days go by

Tomorrow we are off to Sydney for a few days. 

Arki, a friend from Sydney called in with his parents Marty and Zoe and his sister Priya. They played, they performed, we caught up and then they left, short but sweet.

A beautiful afternoon at Never Never Creek and a new dress I whipped up for me, yes me, can you believe it!

 Oh this face. Poe, you are growing so.

Glittery bowler hat, courtesy of Vince

 These are just around the corner from our house, can't wait til they sweeten a little more, there are bountiful bunches waiting to be picked when the time is right. yum

This little friend has been hanging out a bit lately, much to our delight, watching Poe sleep, here on the table and whilst speaking to Cass on the phone, I am smitten. 

 Oh the love. 

 And more love, found this little number for 20c at the Transfer Station of our local tip, the blades even turn. 

Vince, Tracey, Remy and Jenna, lavish us with their love as they hang out with us for a couple of days, yep, we are pretty lucky. 

last night

Last night was hot, sweaty and long.

a sore point

A little word of warning to all those crafters out there, count your needles! A couple of weeks ago Scott had the misfortune of running onto one of my sewing needles that had escaped out of a little sewing bag and wedged itself into the rug. Not only did the tip of the needle snap off into Scott's foot but it wasn't even noticed until a WEEK later, during that time (well 20 minutes after the 'incident') Scott went on a 5 hour bush walk, yes 5 hours with a needle in his foot....ouch. During the five hour bush walk he also managed to step on a coiled up black snake (more likely a red-belly black snake), luckily it was sun drunk and didn't bite him but it did really freak Scott out. He was more than an hours walk out of bushland with no mobile phone coverage and no snake tourniquet.

I felt so awful that my crafting inflicted pain on my lovely, but graciously Scott got how crap I felt and has not yet milked this situation (will wait for the picking up socks vs picking up needles argument though). And how did this needle come to be extracted you ask? Well first a local anaesthetic and a lot of digging around in the wrong place, arggh, and then a whole day getting ultra sounds and x-rays and fasting, only to be told at 4pm the surgeon was too tired and then finally the next day he was put under a general anaesthetic and as the surgeon said "had a bit of a fishing expedition on his foot".  The surgeon was very good, the wound was as small as you could hope for and recovery is pretty much complete, I am now on extra high alert with regards to all sharp objects that may inflict serious damage....lesson learnt.

photo by Suriya

Now a little segue into other lessons learnt (learning), Scott and I have recently been realising the difficulties in adjusting to the change in the dynamics of our relationship over the last nine months; Scott adjusting to full-time parenting for the first time and me adjusting to having to share the parenting and working out how to work together in this. It has been really challenging at times but some amazing and rewarding things have come at holding on and working through. Scott realised that he had some childhood stuff that just kept coming back to bite everyone on the butt and even though he would read really great/amazing books like: "Heart to Heart Parenting", "Unconditional Parenting" and "Playful Parenting", they wouldn't really seep in, he would see the light but then find it hard to put into practice, especially in trying times.

Conveniently/luckily around this time we noticed a flyer for a course that was being held at Bundagen, it was called Heart Parenting and was being run by a woman called Jo Field, the course is based around compassionate communication. And oh my goodness, what a wonderful course it was, after the 5 weeks, Scott has been able to engage with Poe and Ilo, myself and others with a tool-belt of empathy, clear and kind communication and an openness to the plethora of feelings (more than 60!). It was really interesting hearing him talk about the groups he was in and how when they were asked "When did you feel listened to as a child", not many people were able to actually talk about times when they were heard by an adult, oh my goodness, that just breaks my heart, how are people supposed to listen if they have never been heard?

Since the course Scott has had some really beautiful dinners with friends talking about relationships, childhoods and how to connect more authentically with the self. I am so proud and excited for him, he was so brave to confront generational behaviours, analyse them and then find tools and practical ways to stop them. One of the most beneficial aspects of the course was the way they would role play scenarios, they really helped Scott, practical examples that you act out or watch being acted out, how different tones affect different situations and how anger is actually secondary emotion that is masking an unmet need, which is so much more than he got out of any book. The notion that there are four types of responses to any situation, 1: attack the other (you are terrible), 2: attack ones self (i am terrible), 3: have empathy for yourself and get in touch with your feelings (i am feeling this and need this), and 4: ideally, having empathy for the other and getting in touch with their feelings and needs (it sounds like you are feeling like this and may need this). The last one is the best and hardest way to respond by the way. The first two are the least encouraged.

As part of this course they also set you up with an empathy buddy, who you can call and who will listen without judgement, he will be meeting up next week with his buddy for some mutual downloading, reflecting and hugging. They also have monthly group practice sessions, which is amazing.  As with anything new you learn it is all about practice (and practice and practice) until it becomes the norm, he is doing an amazing job and I just feel wells of excitement, pride and love for him, us and our family.

If anyone is interested in doing this course, we can't recommend it enough, some friends in Sydney are thinking of putting together a group (Jo does weekend intensives), so if you are interested let me know and I will hook you up or if you aren't in Sydney just email Jo and have a chat.

new wares

These little numbers plus a couple of extra pieces are the latest to head to Wabi-Sabi. I really love the freedom that Wabi-Sabi gives me to just experiment and to be able to put stuff out there, as an added bonus people are digging my work, which is super cool. 

stripes and spots together at last

reflecting and aspiring

What a year 2011 was, dreams were realised and adventures undertaken, some things were really difficult and very taxing, others enlightening and magical. In 2011, I felt the pain of leaving so many wonderful friends, the uncertainty of a new life and the challenges of adjusting to the balance of having two adults at home full-time as well as the challenges of maintaining authentic and beautiful long distance friendships. By the end of 2011, we had gained some new friends, sadly lost a couple of old friends, worked through a lot of crap and came to the wonderful realisation that we have found our home.
I think that coming into 2012 with a lot of 2011 strengthening us is a great thing, we have great plans for the year ahead, plans that include extra craftiness (and art), more kindness in many different ways, exciting changes in the direction of Scott's work, hopefully buying a home, gardening like crazy and the task of working out how to live a life strong in our values regarding parenting, the environment, life, etc., without others feeling like they are being judged (this is particularly hard, have been work-shopping this with a few dear friends but am open to any ideas out there), especially when we aren't judging at all, we are just trying to live by certain values that we deem important but unfortunately the reality is that despite best intentions, judged is what people feel, and that makes me feel really sad.
We farewelled 2011 with new friends, nighttime bicycle adventures, communal cooking in the kitchen and tea and chocolate on the front porch, surrounded by candlelight and new dear friends, pretty lovely.

On the first day of 2012, we headed to Sawtell, set up a beach umbrella, a tent and a delicious picnic (with some help of the most amazing hot chips) and there we stayed and paddled and flew and read and then met with friends and did all that again and more. A simple, fresh and exciting way to start the year.

Poe and Ilo are very lucky to have some very special friends, Ziggy and Sydney, who live next door, they spend whole days (seriously) on adventures at each other's homes, climbing through the hole in the fence, making fairy gardens, being pirates, creating cubby's for them and their little friends, building lego masterpieces or many other games that just make me smile with wonder.

christmas fun

Merry Christmas everyone, hopefully it was full of love, dear ones, simplicity, ease and deliciousness. 

We spent some really wonderful and relaxing days on the Coast with my family. It was such a delight to gently ease into Christmas and to have Christmas be a time when we can enjoy just simply being in each other's company. So much space was created for each other and for the kids. Over the few days we were on the Coast, books were read, songs were written, laughter was contagious, a film clip partly filmed and two little cups were filled with Grandparent love. In saying this we still had a cooking frenzy on Christmas Eve, juggling and dancing in the kitchen, wondering where the time went and whether it would all come together but then were soon rewarded with a relaxed and delicious feast. 

Framed photo by Cass from Panel Pop, an amazing and quite an emotional Christmas present, heartbreakingly it shattered within minutes of this photo, but have no fear Cass, I have ordered another. Deer is also from Cass, boat, a Christmas present from Poe and Suirya and the nutcracker wooden soldier, $1 from an op shop in Coffs (seriously).

Some exciting, inspiring and thought provoking Summer reads. xx

Sometimes my mum is just too much, I gaze, I am struck, I am in awe of her talent as well as being totally intimidated. 

Another gift from mum, is this not the most beautiful plate in the world?

I did manage a little day trip to Sydney by myself and just 'happened' to visit and delight in the Cornersmith, oh so wonderful, what a space, it feel so solid, so beautiful, so amazing and like it has always been there. Thanks to Ruth and Cam for the bonus Christmas gift of Spiced Cumquats. 

And now I put forth my embroidery piece that I made for Scott, "Dear head", not quite as amazing as mum's but I am totally happy with it, and before you ask, no, I didn't intend for it to look like Scott. The 'Dear head' will be ironed and framed and some point, and hopefully hung over the mantelpiece. 

Oh and before I forget, here are a couple of those op shop finds from the Coast a few weeks ago. Now they are with their intendeds I can share.

Two of these stunning sets belonged to Jen and Rod, they are from Hungary and blow my mind. 

And this little cup had lots of little friends and a big Jug to look after them all. Maybe from Czechoslovakia but can't remember exactly, simply stunning. This troupe are now being loved by Ruth, Cam, Edie and Oscar...yay. 

So great to share such wonderful finds with special friends. 

i am a bird

Ilo has been doing these utterly delightful dance performances, he is so loose in his movements but so focused on what he is doing, being. I love them, he has also been a whale and a lady beetle. Enjoy.

market

The markets (Artisan and monthly Bellingen) have been really wonderful and totally disturbing. Wonderful, seeing people really enjoy and admire what I have crafted, the days spent chatting, relaxing and watching the children playing with friends all day (reminding me of my market days as a child at Paddington markets). Totally disturbing, because I am putting my crafts out there for people to actually buy, yep, parting with their hard earned cash on stuff I have made, when previously stuff I made was always just gifted (i.e. thrust upon people whether they liked it or not). Even when I see people wearing my stuff and raving about it I still feel totally anxious, what if it just falls apart etc. Anyone else feels like this?
I know I sound like a wreck but I'm not, really, it was heaps of fun, we went really well and people were happy, we had some totally awesome days.  Will definitely keep going to a few markets, but in the meantime I need to tag the left over stuff and take them up to Wabi Sabi and Weave.
Oh the new red bird headband is actually reversible! How cool is that. I was pretty stoked.