1. Helen Dardik’s “Daddy Love” giclee print 2. & 3. Viking Plates by Herzenart 4. A 1930s butter dish, to replace an old favourite broken depression era glass one. I love this butter dish. It was made especially for Westinghouse to go along with their new electric refrigerator line. Coolness.
I started my first diary on the 7th of July, 1979.
30 years ago!
On that day my Dad drove through a red light and we crossed the longest bridge in South Australia. From that auspicious start, I kept a diary on and off for the following 16 years. Of course, I was most prolific during my teenage years whinging and wining, fantasising about Simon Le Bon. You know how it goes.
The 9s must be important to me for starting large projects because in 1999 I started my blog and in 2009 I decided to write a novel – or was that 2008? Oh well, regardless. I like the 9s.
Somebody else who started a daily documentation of his life in 1979 was Jamie Livingston – he was a photographer, film maker and circus performer who took a polaroid of his life nearly every day until his death in 1997 (although friends stepped in and helped in those last few frames).
“‘Photo of the Day‘ is a work of light, color, laughter, pain, travel, beauty, wonton soup, afternoons, coffee, hanging out, love, life in its entirety,” – Livinston’s friend Risa Mickenberg.
Looking through these photos is thoroughly moving.
Some others doing simialar things:
- Noah K Everyday – do check this out. The gasp-enducing impact of the site will only take a moment.
- Buster Benson – at 8.36pm every day he takes a snap of whatever is happening right in front of him. He is urging others to join in. His inspiration and objectives of the project are here – and it’s all great reading. (ps. Buster is amazing and always has been).
“The spirit of this project is the long-story of life. The fact that life moves simultaneously on the day-to-day, highly detailed, highly dramatic, arch at the same time that it moves like the slow swell of the ocean. This project’s spirit is in the slow swell, about how, a slight snapshot of each day, when later taken in the context of decades, will tell a story that the participants aren’t currently aware of.” – Buster Benson
- And of course Kirsty’s My Creative Space project is not unlike this. A freezeframe in a creative life; what’s happening in the studio each week, on a Thursday.
So I’m going to start my own:
A while back I started taking photos of our dinners every night. I am interested in food and the way I find myself thinking about food – what it means to me, what it means to my family and to my ideas of parenthood – the good and the bad (and sometimes the ugly), the nourishing and the controlling. I think I am going to take it back up again and see how long I can keep it going.
Phil started a network for posting daily images in this spirit. Join us!
Kokeshi dolls slowly but surely covering the ironing board.
Reprinting my moon print on the gocco. One more colour to go. (more creative spaces over at Kirst’s place)
I have been pleasantly busy with all my artwork at the moment. Printing, sewing, painting, designing, drawing. It’s all wonderful fun but it takes up the time I would otherwise dedicate to writing a coherent blog post.
But lots of things are making me go “weee!” including:
1. Fiona’s doll pattern. The dolls are so beautiful – and the pattern is a joy in itself.
2. Pip. Always Pip. And her fabulous list of gocco links.
3. Stephanie’s tooth fairy pillow from 2005 (ah, the good ol’ days) because Amelia’s tooth is finally in need of a tooth fairy pillow.
4. This video of the 2nd largest aquarium tank in the world. But you know? Click on it and watch it in a larger version – if not full screen.
(via we love you so)
5. Looking up photographs of the Loch Ness Monster for the wee bairns only to find a National Geographic (old) news article about the theory that the sighting of Nessie in 1933 may have been a circus elephant! Too cool.
6. Celeriac. I have fallen in love with the ugliest vegetable on the planet.
o) Birds on a branch wall hanging (above) by Sew Liberated and the tutorial for the birds at Spool.
o) Downloadable and printable (US Letter sized) lined paper for kids to practice writing on at Balancing Everything.
o) Eric Carle wallpapers from Chronicle Books. I have the very hungry caterpillar today, but tomorrow I am definitely going to have the panda.
0) There’s no place like home – Etsy’s studio tour video series continues with Made With Love by Hannah’s amazing Swiss Chalet in LA.
o) Such an awesome idea (I’ve already tweeted this, but it’s worth a repeat) Feral Fruit Tree Mapping at GreenFoot – inspiring!
Image via the wonderful Dinosaurs and Robots
Saturday afternoon and we’re wagging swimming lessons. Just another thing to not tick off the list this week.
So what have you been up to?
I’ve been in stalling mode. House needs cleaning, hair needs cutting, writing needs writing, softies need sewing (I need a little banana slug in my studio to get that done), books need reading, dinners need cooking, plans need planning, weeds need weeding.
Things I have managed to get done lately (brace yourself, it’s been a killer week);
I gave myself a recession-era fringe cut which may have been a mistake.
I made Mum’s You’ve got Friends Chocolate Cake and it worked! I did the 1.5 size recipe and used a big bundt tin and it was a great success.
I twittered about a library book full of cat hair and a fish bone stuck in my throat.
I watched loads of telly… Season 3 of the Mighty Boosh (loved it), Starter for 10 (great), Oscar & Lucinda (lovely), Survivor (oh yes), Lost (to keep Phil company these days), Flight of the Conchords (and bought Carol Brown so I can listen to it all the time), The Jane Austen Book Club (meh), and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (still watchable).
I heard myself tell someone that we don’t watch a lot of television. At that moment I actually believed it.
I had lots of coffees, at Bliss, at Snow Pony, at Laurent, at home from a packet of Jasper’s and then heard myself tell someone that we are not spending any money on unnecessary items in 2009.
I downloaded M Ward’s new album, Clementine by Melbourne’s (not Norway’s) Washington, The Lark Ascending (which reminds me so much of that wonderful movie ‘The Year my Voice Broke’) and listened to the Dodo’s a lot while I was pretending to write.
I looked at loads of Oscars frocks and then looked at the NME awards photos and felt a bit relieved that the Brits are still so grungy. Clearly not a stylist in the house.
And in case you missed it, I listed a softie on Ebay for the Bushfire Appeal and it ends Monday!
It’s still hot. It’s not even shimmering heat – it’s just curl up and die heat. Our garden is not faring well – but it’s a good day to wash and dry an old and much loved teddy.
So what else can you do on a hot day? Catch a free train – unless it’s canceled. Wash the kitchen floor with buckets of water and kids. And do lots of wishful thinking.
I looked for the coolest places on earth to run away too. I think Sooke Harbour House on Vancouver Island in British Columbia looks like my kind of place.
I might run away and take one of those ocean view rooms, watch killer whales, check out the art gallery, walk by the water, sit by an open fire, soak in a bath (guilt free – Lots of water in BC), eat at the organic restaurant, drink good wine and all that stuff. Now that would be a place to write a novel! They have a blog – maybe they need a blogger in residence. Hmm. Well regardless, it’s going on our list for our fantastical Cross Canada Adventure in five year’s time.
And because I know we are heading up to 43ºc some time this afternoon, I am going to spend time checking out the website for the Ice Hotel in Sweden.
Mmm. Chilly.
Anyway, back to reality. I am off to have an icey pole for lunch.
What are you wishfully thinking about?
It’s going to be a hot few days.
Just before I get to the enormous task of digging a house into the ground under the floorboards, Coober Pedy style, so that we can survive Melbourne’s hottest week for 100 years (4 days above 40ºc / 105ºf), I thought I would post a few links.
The first is one I found via one of my favourite blogs Dancing with Frogs. It’s especially for bloggers and it’s nicely said.
Keri reminds us to embrace the season – while the quote from Rick Bass is all about Winter in Montana, it made me stop and think about how much I whinge about Summer and instead perhaps I should try loving it. Hmm, not likely, but I am going to stock up on the watermelon and the icy-poles and try not to be quite so grumpy. Maybe it’s even siesta season if only Lily would agree.
1000 Novels Everyone Must Read – at the Guardian. You know, there are tonnes of these kinds of lists but I quite like how this one is broken up into categories; War & travel (interesting combo), Science Fiction and Fantasy, State of the Nation, Family and Self, Comedy, Crime and Love. Reader’s recommendations are going to be published next month.
February’s a-coming. Shutter Sisters One Word project. (via Pip) I am not a photographer. Frankly, the idea of taking nice photo freaks me out a bit but I like the idea of this project. It might force me to think about photographing things in a different way.
**
Finally, I have updated my sidebar (right) with some links for July / August. This time I have decided to list the lovely blogs I visit regularly for inspiration, escapism and fetishism – design blogs.
For those in the know, there’s really nothing new here – all familiar bloggers who do it so well (unfortunately I haven’t had the time to mine for undiscovered gems. Please let me know or leave a comment if you know of any screamingly obvious omissions or personal favourites). I keep coming back to the blogs which I feel most at home in – ones that feature eclectic, personality filled houses. Loads of texture and colour, often with much evidence of kids, often with big saggy sofas covered in cushions.
All these blogs feature gorgeous interiors, and beautiful objects and art created by unique, exquisitely talented and often (sometimes?) affordable designers – so exciting.
Our house is a tragic work in progress, and always will be. But at least with these blogs I can spend a little time visiting that seductive realm of “In an unknown parallel universe, this is how I live”.
** the above image is from Design Sponge’s Lena Corwin Competition 3rd place winner Meredith Kleinman. Grace’s Design Sponge is probably my very favourite space on the web at the moment. Gorgeous gorgeousness all the time. And WHO isn’t coveting the new Lena Corwin
