Me time (short but sweet)

I have a house full of sick children. Actually, one is well and truly on the mend now and is just restless and ready to be set free out the front door to run through the woods again – but it’s cold and wet and so she is stuck inside. And I have been stuck in doors too and I’m starting to feel a little stir-crazy… I know I had better get used to being stuck indoors as we head into the rainy rainy Pacific Northwest months, but I keep telling myself that all will be better when all our stuff arrives and we have a table we can at least sit at to make, draw, cook etc.

The walk down the long drive and up the road to the mail box is my daily time of solitude, silence and solace right now. I have been taking my camera just in case I see something worth photographing but usually it’s pretty uneventful. If I am lucky I might see a super huge, jet black shiny slug heading across the road or a deer, or some rabbits. These last few days I stop and listen to the far away burble of water in the creek way down below the road. The grassy bank you see above is full of chirping crickets which are a cheerful sound in an otherwise quiet and still world. I can just breath and not answer a tirade of questions, or ask someone to stop hitting someone else. I stagger back up the steep drive and feel quite physically exhausted but otherwise revived and ready for the rest of the day.

*I meant to stop and have a look at what the paperback was, sitting beneath the mail box, but the next time I went back it had already gone.

It’s that time of year again – Sign Ups for the wonderful Softies for Mirabel are happening over at Pip’s.

From Mikes: “The Mirabel Foundation is based in Melbourne. Mirabel was set up by the amazing Jane Rowe. They do really important work providing help to kids who have been orphaned or abandoned due to their Mum or Dad’s drug addiction. A lot of these kids end up in the care of grandparents (who may be elderly) or other extended family, and it is obviously a really sad and challenging time for everyone. Mirabel steps in and provides assistance and counselling in all sorts of practical, respectful and positive ways to help these families…. Here’s what to do: We want you to make SOFTIES! YES! We are putting the call out once more to YOU and your friends and your relatives to spend some time making a toy (or many toys) for the Mirabel kids. Spend some time making something lovely for a great kid : because these kids might like a trusty buddy to snuggle down with. And because softies are very good listeners, right?”

Right ! – so pop on over to Pip’s and sign up if you’re into it. I know I am.

I’m working on a Mighty Life List. Not sure if I am going to post it here… I might when I have got to 100, but it’s challenging and exciting and you might like to make one too. What made me decide to finally write a life list is reading Maggie’s latest post on her blog about the recently held Mighty Summit. So good.

Misty visitor

Not the best photo – it had to be quick – but look who was wandering around in our garden the other evening.

Our stuff arrives on Saturday – I am so looking forward to it. Imagine having a muffin tin… A favourite book… Something for the girls to do on a rainy day… It’s going to be awesome.

Chicks building houses:

From Lloyd’s blog (so you may have already seen this) Linda made a treehouse in the woods of upstate New York. It’s so sweet, and simple and very cool and her photos of her friends and their treehouse weekends are the stuff of dreams.

Local collective : Mudgirls: “We are a network of women who build natural structures for ourselves and each other, as well as helping others build their own, and sharing natural building skills through affordable workshops.  We specialize in building with cob, as well as other natural material such as strawbale, driftwood, adobe, cordwood and recycled materials like glass, car tires, glass bottles and more.”

Jam Fancy Ceramics

Have you seen Christina’s ceramics? She once again shows that she is an incredible jack-of-all-trades. I think the behatted lolly bowl girl is my all time favourite with the Geisha girl being a close second, but all of them are exquisite. We enrolled in a community ceramics course together at the beginning of second term this year, and while I proved to myself once again that I just don’t “get” clay, Christina took to it immediately. What a gal. I miss her stacks.

Oh sad day – for me. But if you are in Melbourne, Sunday could be a very happy day for you. Nathalie Lété is going to be in Melbourne painting two shop windows – catch her in Malvern and then in Doncaster. I’m not envious of you guys, no, not one bit, not at all… nope. Really.  …. …  …..

Great Horned Owls by John James Audubon 1814 and 1821

We have a nightime owl visitor. I think my love for this place is almost complete. Two nights ago there was a large dark silhoutte sitting on a branch of the dead fir tree outside our bedroom window. And it was making hooting noises – actual, real owl-sounding hoots. After listening to a bunch of audio files, we have him identified – the Great Horned Owl.

Weekend in the woods

Ah Monday morning – you bring back the reality a bit.

We got a huge delivery of firewood dropped in our front driveway on Saturday and we spent hours lugging wood into tidy piles in the woodshed and then the overflow into the garage. It was hard work – but good work. It felt brilliant to be doing some physical and practical and I am sure the next time we have to do it I will be far more jaded and moan about it a lot more, but right now, this suburban-girl even finds a deep satisfaction in lugging wood through the rain for our very own fire. We now have a warm house and happy hearts. Last night I sat knitting by the fire, while we watched the latest episode of Project Runway, and enjoyed the pop ‘n’ crackle (and a well earned whisky).  We may have been absolutely shattered from all the wood lugging and Fall Fair shenanigans but it was a nice evening.

I have finished my cardigan for Lily – but it turns out that it is way too huge for her – in my usual casual knitting manner I think I added a fair few stitches across the back and it now fits Amelia perfectly – but Lily won’t have that, so it will probably have to sit in a cupboard until she grows into it. Next I am experimenting with stripes and wrist warmers. I started a wrist warmer last night and I think it might end up being a vest for a portly teddy bear. Perhaps I need to go back to following patterns.

Twitter!  Quite honestly, I read a lot of tweets, more than I really should and I am going to stop – very soon… well, I’m going to limit myself to not reading them all the time… but this one I really like: @AdviceToWriters — it’s useful and encouraging.

The Only Way to Become Amazingly Great at Something over at Zen Habits is a nice little reminder that it takes a lot of work and practice to master the thing you really want to master.  ”So here’s the thing: don’t get discouraged if you’re just starting out. Have fun, like we all did in the beginning. If you have fun, you’ll learn to love it, and THAT’S when it clicks. When you love something, you’ll want to do it all the time”.

Shelter – Lloyd Khan

SHELTER from jason sussberg on Vimeo.

How awesome is this film? How wonderful is Lloyd Khan? He has a book, you know, and a blog. Check them here.

I am posting this on my blog mostly because I know that some time today my Dad and my Mum and my Uncle will be sitting around the kitchen table in a little house in country New South Wales, having a cup of tea or maybe even a glass of wine. The binoculars and bird watching books will be out… Mum might be knitting a pair of socks… books will be on hand… probably ones by Patrick O’Brian… and my Dad might check loobylu and will then share this film with them. Mostly I am posting this so my Dad (master treehouse builder and meticulous planner) and my Mum (master gardener, cook, pragmatic reality-keeper and maker of warm homes) and my Uncle (architect, inspired dreamer and fine craftsman) might feel inspired to come and join us here in the Pacific Northwest and help build us a crazy beautiful house. All three have the deep sense of delight and whimsy that would make this appeal, I am sure. Hint hint. Dream dream.

But, even if they just came and sat by the fire with the binoculars and the bird book, and the knitting and the novels, and just talked about the possibilities… that would be equally as nice.