This month





 

This month.....

• included two weeks of school holidays,
• we went on a family holiday and stayed at a divine cottage in Nornalup for three nights (thank you, Aunty Jan!)
• the girls all had their first fishing expedition - it didn't last long but it put smiles on their faces!
• we visited quite a few artists who were showing their work as part of the Southern Art Trail (it was awesome!!) These paintings are by Serena MacLauchlan at Hotchin Gallery.
• I got a crocheting bug - three cowls later.....
• I managed to finish another little oil seascape painting - yay!
• my love affair with the Schoolhouse Tunic entered its seventh episode, this time with a gorgeous purple linen,
• my football team did NOT win the Grand Final, but I still love them!!!
• Miss M started to learn how to use the sewing machine - she has yet to earn her learner's permit (which means she can use the machine without me having to constantly supervise), but she is almost there,
• I experienced my first ever blogger/insta-meet - I bumped into Kate from 2littlebanshees while we both happened to be browsing the fabric racks at Albany Spotty at the same time.
• we celebrated Miss M's birthday with a BIG party and the most decadent ice-cream cake of all time!! Happy Birthday, my girl!!
• I have (obviously) had a break from my blog.

And it is good to be back.

 xx



Chatting with Cezanne

When we were in Perth during the week, I took the girls to the Art Gallery of WA. I know. I am still recovering.

 

But I desperately wanted to see the exhibition "Van Gogh, Dali and beyond" which is full of artworks currently on loan from the Museum of Modern Art.

 

I loved it!!

 

Even before we walked in, while we were waiting in line to enter, I caught a glimpse of the entry artworks through the door. Oh, my!!! There was the Van Gogh, but wait! Right next to it. There, glowing on the wall, a Cezanne still life!!! Ahhhhh!!!

 

*sob*

I could have stayed in front of this painting, blocking everyone else's view, for hours. But I had the girls with me, and standing still is not something they are renowned for! And so, on we went.

 

The girls found the kids' art activity section - yay....

 

And Miss E thought the view through the window into the next room was far more compelling than the stunning artwork on the wall. Hmmm.......

 

The second half of the exhibition was viewed at a rather rapid pace, but that wasn't too bad. I had to exit the room to take the girls to the toilet, which meant that we had to re-enter, past the Cezanne, in order to see the remainder. Really? I have to walk past the Cezanne again? If I must :) !

 

I haven't felt such an emotional response to an exhibition since I saw a Brett Whiteley show at the gallery in the late 1980s. I think. And the biggest difference in those 25 years in terms of gallery etiquette would have to be the plethora of technological devices that people now take with them into exhibitions, and the NUMBER of photos that they take - hey, I'm one of them (obviously!), but it just seemed, well, wrong.

 

Great exhibition, great day. And great buddies - my friend Julie and her son came with us and I am eternally grateful for her kid wrangling assistance while I was being hypnotised by Cezanne.

 

This exhibition is worth every cent, and, if I manage to get myself back to Perth before the exhibition closes in early December, I am going to have another chat with the Cezanne painting.

 

xx

Yarny Stuff

When in Perth there are a certain number of very necessary visits to make. One, as I wrote about yesterday, is a visit to the hairdresser (sob again!). The other trip of upmost importance is a visit to my favourite yarn shop, Crossways Wool and Fabric, in Subiaco.

Oooh, I do love to go there and have a good sticky! Pauline and her highly skilled and experienced assistants always keep this shop well stocked with a variety of products and colour ranges, and it's always fun to check out what new and lovely yarny stuff they have in store.

 

 

 

What was particularly exciting for me this time was that I had a rather lovely voucher from Christmas to spend, and spend it I did! My first priority was to stock up on yarn for my misnamed 'Stash-busting Hexi Blanket'. You know, the one that I was working on last year? The one that was meant to help me use up all my 8ply leftovers? The one that is evidently anything but a stash buster??

 

 

 

I also picked up a couple of skeins of a rather luscious Aslan Llama and Mulberry Silk worsted in a plummy colour. Mmmmmmm!

 

Ahhh. Look at those colours! I can't wait to get them home and get cracking on some hexis again. But it shall all have to wait a little while longer for I have a Line Break shawl to finish, not to mention the two girlie dinners I have to attend in the next few evenings....

 

Yay for holidays!

 

xx

Windmills

 

Miss E's beloved Perth Royal Show purchase, more coveted than the Barbie Showbag,

the perfect hat for windy occasions......

 

the 'Spinny Hat"!

 

 

Sam xx

Teeny Tiny Knitted Bunny

Poor Miss J. It's her turn today.

And because she is sick, and because she left her favourite toy rabbit at the big shops a few weeks ago and hasn't quite recovered from the loss, I made her one of Little Cotton Rabbit's Teen Tiny Toys.

Little Cotton Rabbit provides an excellent photo tutorial to make these little critters. It always amazes me how the smallest of changes in the placement of facial features can change the entire character of a small toy - mine has turned out to look rather portly and would definitely benefit from a more balanced head to body ratio!

But the best thing is that Miss J hasn't let go of him since I gave him to her.

And she's smiling!

Hooray!

Sam xx

Creative Space - Happy Holiday Hexagon Hooky!

There's nothing quite like a holiday project, and of course I had to take something with me when we went bush camping on the weekend. 

Admittedly, I didn't get any crochet done while actually camping but I did get some done on the drives.

And I have also discovered that it isn't, perhaps, the wisest thing to do while trying to navigate.....

It helps to make the drives more fun, though!

Sam xx

More amazing Creative Spaces here.

Yesterday/Today

Yesterday I.....


Made lunches
Got the girls dressed
Did the school run
Took the twins to swimming
Tidied the kitchen
Loaded dishwasher
Washed two loads of clothes and hung them out
Brought the washing in
Folded three other loads of washing
Put it all away
Made lunch for the twins
Cleaned up
Unloaded the dishwasher
Made bread
Took some photos
Finished sewing my new tunic
Rang the shops to see if Miss J's lost toy was there (it wasn't)
Ironed a shirt for G
Picked Up Miss M from school
Chopped wood
Lit the fire
Brought in more washing
Fed the chooks
Collected eggs
Cooked dinner
Looked for and found beach house keys
Bathed the girls
Put them to bed
Wrote my blog posts
Ordered a book online
Paid bills online
Packed an afternoon bag for the girls
Packed my bag
Organised uniforms for tomorrow
Laid out clothes for the twins

....so that Today I can go away for the weekend with five of my very best friends - child free, husband free, and hopefully care free!

We will enjoy!

Sam xx

Knitting Work In Progress

Like a lot of crafty people, I like to take a project away with me on holiday and, as you may have already read here, I finished Miss E's cardigan while away (not that she'll wear it!). But I knew that wasn't going to be enough so I took another project with me, just in case! I have some Cleckheaton Country 8 ply wool left over from a hat and scarf that I made Miss M earlier in the year. A cardigan to match was required!

Except she didn't want the same pattern as Miss E. No, no; she wanted 'Something Girlier'.

Ravelry.com to the rescue. Again!

Miss M chose Olearia, by Georgie Hallem aka 'Tikki', which you can find here. And it is 'girlie' enough, although we are debating whether to make the long sleeved version versus the cap sleeve one. Hmmmm. It might be a case of seeing whether I have enough yarn or not, the eternal knitters' quandary!

Now, I have never really been one for knitting in the car. I like to look at the world go by and often I'm too busy dishing out food to the kids and being a Crowd Controller. But this trip was different. I knew the roads and scenery quite well, and the drives are long - the journey home took us 6 hours with lunch and toliet stops. There was plenty of time to fill with knitting. So I did!

This is one long car trip that seemed to pass very quickly!

And just to finish, I thought I might share the place where we like to stop for lunch when we are on the road to/from Albany; a beautiful old building, the Kojonup Barracks built in 1845(that's old in Western Australia!).

Love it!

Sam xx

Current Reads

Despite being in quarantine and stuck in bed a couple of weeks ago, being sick did give me the chance to read my holiday book. ‘Caleb’s Crossing’, by Geraldine Brooks, has been languishing on my bedside table since I bought it on my birthday in February. But not anymore!

The story is a fictional historical drama based on the factual details surrounding the circumstances of the first Native American to graduate from Harvard University in the 1600’s. It is told through the eyes of the main character, Bethia, an ‘English’ girl, daughter of a Martha’s Vineyard minister whose main aim was to convert the Indians to Christianity.

Bethia is strong, intelligent and resourceful girl in a God fearing, strictly religious colonial community. She struggles to fit the accepted role deemed to be appropriate for women of the day and is conflicted with the contradictions she sees in her society.

It does seem that I have a penchant for historical drama at the moment because another recent read of mine, another birthday buy, was ‘Sarah Thornhill’, a sequel novel by Australian author Kate Grenville. I love Grenville’s writing; she uses language in a beautiful way and has a talent for evoking the Australian landscape. Her character, Sarah, is like Bethia, struggling with her allotted role in life on the edge of wilderness. Sarah, too, has encounters with the indigenous people of the area in which she lives, although her story is influenced by the underlying tragedy of the first book, ‘The Secret River’.

Both these books are brilliant reads and I recommend them wholeheartedly. Both have themes which ask some questions that most readers would find uncomfortable, and not just those in Australia. And both are written by Australians. Brooks is a now a resident of Martha’s Vineyard.

So, now what am I going to read?

Post holiday Edit: Lack of choice at our holiday destination led me to buy “The Slap” by another Australian, Christos Tsiolkas, and I have just finished the first ‘section’. I normally don’t like to buy the book after I have watched the movie/series, but in this case I was interested to see how the author initially developed the very unsettling themes. And it is good!

South Coast highlights

Highlights from the South Coast part of our holiday:

Staying at Aunty J's cottage beside the Frankland river,

walks with Daddy,



more walking, this time through the tree tops in Walpole,

 Sunday morning pancake making at Aunty A's in Albany,

a visit to the Albany wind farm,

 and a 'sail' on the 'Amity' with the cousins!

Exhausting! We are all very glad to be heading home tomorrow!!

Sam xx

Weather Change

Sand in hiking boots = blisters. Ouch!

So, I picked the boys up on Wednesday morning at Conto's.

Look at the size of that wave!

Wherever there is a puddle.....

The twins think that fairies live in this forest.

Can you see them??

Sam xx

Is it still there?

Is it still there?

Let’s run to the beach and have a look.

Down the path,

Across the sand....

It’s there! Hooray!!

How about a little splash while we’re here?

Or maybe a swim?

Seaweedy water? Not a problem!

Finish with a run along the beach,

And head back for a bath.

But will our sandcastle still be there tomorrow?

 Sam xx

What are the chances?

View from Moses Rock road to Gracetown

G has been hanging out for the arrival of his hiking buddy, Uncle Rob, who arrived from Tasmania on Friday night. They first met while travelling through Pakistan, Western China, Uzbekistan and Turkistan. Lots of lovely gastro stories. They also travelled a couple of years later to Vietnam. But I remember G saying that he felt cheated on that trip – he didn’t have any of the gastro that normally accompanies holidays to such countries. No weight loss on that visit!

And our girls also love Uncle Rob. On Saturday morning, Miss M and her sisters were all over him, so excited were they by his being here. Delightful!

The plan is that we are to spend a week or so in the South West so the boys can hike the Cape to Cape track. Brilliant! I’ll stay at the beach house with our girls and we will just chill out, go to the beach, visit some friends who live down this way, maybe do some of the child friendly ‘attractions’ here that we normally wouldn’t do (too expensive!), do a food/water drop for the boys halfway through and pick them up at the end. We then plan to head to Albany.

But....

By morning tea on Saturday, I was in bed with a squirgly tummy. Nauseated, my word!!  Everyone banished from my bedroom or being anywhere near me. It meant that Daddy and Uncle Rob had to look after the girls and start the packing for our trip.

And they did. And I got better so that we were able to set off on Sunday after lunch.

But....

It is now evident that quarantine failed this time because by 4am Sunday morning, my poor Miss M woke me.

“I’m going to be sick.”

Hustled back into bed, a bucket within handy reach, she proceeded to empty her stomach, poor love; my child, watery eyed, head over the bucket, looking me straight in the eye.

“I’m home sick,” she croaked.

Oh, my poor darling!  I hope the twins will be okay. This could go on for a while, as we all know.

And I’m not holding out much hope for the boys, either. They set off this morning on their hike but G was looking decidedly green. “I’ll sweat it out!”

I don’t think Uncle Rob had this type of stomach bug in mind on this trip – certainly not as exotic as his other travels; “You’re not meant to be sick on holiday in Western Australia!”

And that goes for West Australians too!!

Sam xx

PS Thanks to Rob for the use of his laptop while my new mobile broadband decides to work.