from the blue shed

The (not so) blue shed

When we first bought our home 6 years ago I was overjoyed to discover that there were in fact TWO sheds in the back yard. A his and hers set of rusty shelters. I quickly claimed the little blue one as my own and from the blue shed was born. Although too dark and spidery to work in, it was a place to store and organise all my crafty bits. As many crafts people can appreciate, I have spent years taking over every surface of the house in search of a place to lay my fabric and tools. We have dined amongst beads and wire, attempted homework on surfaces covered in glue and hung laundry in a sea of ceramic shards (not recommended).

The time came to replace my blue shed with a little place suitable for my studio and a place for visitors. This was too exciting for words. My own place. Once the ball was rolling and the concrete slab was laid I swore never again to work at the dining room table. These things of course take longer than you plan, life started taking a slightly different course and a painful creative hiatus ensued... 

 

The (not so) blue shed has been in action for a little while now. It is still a work in progress but my new little place has seen many visitors and the start of some new beginnings.

Although I'm still trying to find my creative groove again I have a pretty fabulous place to do it in. I am one lucky girl. 

 

 

The drought is over.

There has been a serious craft drought around these parts. Serious. But in the wake of my mother's departure back home, We are surrounded by a sea of colour she has crafted for us and a pile of my own projects in various stages of completion.

There are the chairs off the side of the road that need to be refinished.

The 5 year afghan (because I think that's how long it's going to take for me to finish it) 

The beautiful stack of quilting fabric waiting for that inspired (and achievable) pattern.

Then there is the table strewn with beads, the pile of road side receptacles waiting to become garden beds, the half painted interior of the house. Oh I could go on. I would say the drought is definitely over. Phew. With so many projects on the go and no where near finished, the only thing a girl can do is... 

 start a new one.

Sculptures by the sea

We made it for the final day of Sculptures by the Sea at Cottesloe beach today. Little did we know we had a very educated tour guide in our midst. Piper who is in year 2 has been studying the sculptures and their artists in Art Appreciation at school which she announced only as we arrived at the beach. Nice. As we passed each one she gave a little spiel, some background information and announced a few must sees. And here I thought we were exposing the kids to something new. Double nice.

Here are a few highlights.

It is always such a joyous event to see the beach thriving with people of all ages enjoying all works of art. From the interactive and funny to the colourful awe inspiring. Sculptures by the Sea is not to be missed. And here we almost did! I must pay a visit to the art teacher tomorrow and thank her. We (and the near by art appreciators) really enjoyed the artistic education through the eyes of a 7 year old. 

cubby refurb

Our girls have just celebrated their birthdays and they seem significantly older this time around - just like that! With the beginning of each new year I have this overwhelming urge to purge and rearrange. In with the new sort of thing. In the midst of all the culling we brought up the cubby house with the girls. It hadn't had much attention for sometime so we suggested that the chickens move in. Luckily that idea was met by resistance, so we decided to keep it as is but move it around the back. I stumbled across these photos of the cubby house in its hay-day. When potions were made in it and it was home to every doll and stuffed animal in the house, when I had time to make bunting, scrub labels off old squeezie bottles and sew matching aprons. When did I ever have time for that?!?

When the cubby was moved to a new spot, I had this overwhelming need to sew some bunting - metaphorically speaking. So on a sunny Sunday we set to work. We made a list with a plan of action. We went to buy supplies, everyone co-operating, agreeing on a paint colour (phew) and choosing the extra special touches. It was all going so well. Once home we set ourselves up to get painting with the "adult paint". Now I have to admit that we ran into an anxious, panic stricken slightly cranky bump when the blue covered more than just the sky. Seriously, what did I think was going to happen?? But I took a few deep breaths, pulled myself together and we were off again. I was sure the blue footprints could be scrubbed off of the paving.. (insert panic faced emoticon)

Once the fence was painted, the flowers planted, the clouds sponged, and the paint splattered area repaved (seriously) We stood back and admired our work.
 

Now that the girls are older, they have their own ideas of how they want their spaces to be decorated. The control freak in me just needed to take a step back (take a few quick photos) and let them do their thing. They do know how to bling up the place marvelously.

A new location and a lick of paint and the cubby house is now the hub of activity once again. Just when I thought the Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber posters were going to replace the dolls, they start cranking out potions and playing house.

Change really is as good as a holiday. Thank goodness.

Canada Day recovery - butter tart recipe

With Canada Day now 2 days behind us, I still have the spicy cheese injected gorge fest lingering and quite frankly - I want more!  We had an impromptu celebration with a few families and a trailer load of Canadian comfort food. I spent the night before preparing a few things I missed from home and found myself blitzing, pulsing and blending everything from jalapeno popper dip and blue cheese dip for wings to pumpkin pie and butter tarts (amazing recipe found here) 
After a week of cold wet weather we had the perfect sunny winters day for our Canadian BBQ. Ridiculous Canadian beer coolers were handed out. Not something I remember having a lot of at home but we have managed to acquire quite a few now living in Australia. A Canadian play list to set the mood and my Muskoka chair to enjoy it all from. 

As the afternoon got cooler we lit the fire and the kids and adults alike roasted marshmallows as the sun went down.

It's been a couple of years since I was home for a Canadian summer. And although not quite the same as sitting on the dock at the cottage, with lovely friends to celebrate and help ease this gal's homesick heart, who could ask for more. 

but still dreaming of...

photo courtesy of blog.iloho.com

While I resist the urge to make another trough of poutine...

mud glorious mud!

When was the last time you not only splashed in puddles but really got in there and rolled around in the mud as well? Honestly, I can't remember the last time, if ever, this nature lovin' girl has let her kids play with complete abandon in the stuff. That was of course until today!  Our wonderful and slightly mad with hind sight friend invited us up the hill to her block for some wild mud fun. Nature Play Solutions came with a trailer of special clay dirt and a pile of buckets. The children with water and no rules piled, slathered, molded and squelched in mud glorious mud. 

As much as some of us (ok I'm talking about me again) think that we really get out there and appreciate all nature has to offer, if mud isn't on the list, we need to rewrite the list. It's messy, filthy fantastic fun. We all need a little mud oozing between the toes now and again. 

Thank you Jus and Sara. Completely loved it. 

Mother's Day

Four months with my mum has quickly come to an end. A nice chunk of time like four months let's you settle in to the groove of daily happenings. We thoroughly enjoyed a laze around together and I was able to steal some time for myself. She was here for many firsts. First books read. First tooth lost. First ride without training wheels. I was so glad she was here for those milestones when she lives so darn far away. 

Today on this slightly overcast Mother's Day we all are enjoying the cosy little places she has left for us. Quilts afghans and pillows for us to cosy up under and think of her.

Thanks Ma for a lovely visit. Happy Mother's Day. I love you. 

a long overdue tromp through the bush.

I love trees

 

The river, a kayak and mussels for dinner

A forgotten post from last week but an evening I wanted to remember.

Savouring the last of the summer holidays, we headed to the river with a few families and a couple of kayaks in search of dinner. We gathered, scraped and scrubbed approximately 2 billion and 3 mussels. Gorging ourselves on creamy wine, thai and chili mussels until the sun went down. 

Ahhh holidays. 

exploring