little by little

my little one is growing in leaps and bounds, as they are inclined to do. i have noticed so many changes in her of late. until recently, her confidence when in company of her peers is one area that has been lacking. we have attended a local play group nearly every friday morning for the past two years and its only been in the past few weeks that jess no longer clings onto me or follows my every move when we are there. she has found some independence and is no longer afraid of the other children. more and more jess is interacting with other children and adults, it is a pleasure to see such a transformation.

jessica and i have pretty much been constant companions ever since she was born. i have never had more than a couple of hours away from her at a time. then it has only been if she is looked after by her dad or big sisters. i have kept her close (or she has kept me close!) and been her safe rock. i know we have quite an unusual situation and there probably aren't many kids these days that have spent so much time with their parents. i think we are fortunate that i am a stay at home mum and haven't had to send jess to child care and as we don't have any family living close by, child minding even for a fews hours isn't an option for us. it has allowed jessica to flourish and grow at her own pace into the bright and confident child she is today. 

saturday week will be a big day for both jess and i. we will be separated for a whole day while i attend the nursery with tim coulson. i am so excited to be doing something on my own, for myself and quite nervous at the same time. jess will spend the day with her big sister and is quite excited about it so i am sure she will be okay (and i will be okay too). little by little we will separate from each other.

baking today

today jessica and i baked some ANZAC biscuits.

one can only imagine how those young men in a far off country felt when they received a package from home with these delicious biscuits inside, re veered for their keeping qualities.

i always use my nanna's recipe, i am a sentimental soul, although i change the quantities of the sugar and butter. less sugar, more butter to make them spread thin while they cook. my nanna taught me to bake with this recipe, i taught my older girls with it and now i teach my youngest.

the knitting continues...

i finished this knit over a week ago but today was the first time jessica allowed me to photograph her with it on...

a little over a year ago, i knitted up this same pattern and my goodness, the colour is nearly the same. that wasn't intentional, its just that i bought this yarn online and it looked a little more violet in the photo sample. i have even knitted the same size. i could have (probably should have) knitted the next size up. jess is at a funny stage with sizes, every thing new swims on her while every thing old in her wardrobe is getting too small even though they are only a size smaller. as i like to get quite a bit of wear out of her clothes, it is making choosing sizes quite difficult.

the pattern for this sweet little knit came from pickles and i did find it easier the second time round. i am pleased to say my knitting skills must be improving as i only made two mistakes (both on the two buttonholes). buttonholes? i can hear you say. yes they are hardly there as a result of my mistake so i decided to go with some ties and pom poms instead. i like the result much better.

the yarn, cascade yarns 100% superwash merino wool, was so beautiful and soft to knit with. i am hopeful that this little vest will get some wear over the coming cooler months. jess has had it on for short amounts of time but then discards it saying 'its for winter mum!' maybe it is super warm... 

the vest from last year was barely worn. mainly as a result of one of my (many) mistakes. it kept falling from her shoulders and would annoy her. jessica doesn't 'do' annoying clothes. 

i am wondering what to do with the old vest and one idea i had was to unravel it and knit myself a scarf from the yarn... what does one do with one's failures?

can someone out there please explain to me what 'blocking' is? is it necessary? what does it do?

these days

this week... 

although we are still having some warm days, there is a softness to the air, the sun isn't so harsh, the mornings and nights are cooler, socks and jumpers cast off mid morning and put back on in the evenings, calm almost windless days, perfect weather, autumn is truly here!

how fast this week has flown by but somehow time seems to have stood still as well... how can that be?

i have hardly held the camera in my hands this week so only few snaps.

1. a scene that will happen an hour earlier now that daylight savings has ended. the sun will shine in the window at 7.30 instead of 8.30 in the morning.

2. golden morning light shining on my new sewing/crafting room wall.

3. milk mustache before bedtime.

4. it has been years since i have had any plants in the house but now that i have a few i am really enjoying the freshness they bring (i just have to remember to water them!)

5. still loving the colour of my kitchen tiles. i especially like them at night in the glow of a dim light. they have certainly changed the mood of this room.

6. oh tilly dog! she gave us such a fright this week that saw us rush her to the vet 170 kilometres away at five in the afternoon. we didn't think we would be bringing her home again. when we got to the vet she was fine, we shook our heads in disbelief. it was not a fun afternoon! the next day at home she was back to her usual self, chasing chickens and digging up seedlings...

7. flower at sunset.

joining in with lovely Em.

the egg hunt

just a few snaps of the easter morning egg hunt.

the night before we had left out a basket of eggs that we had decorated during the week and some carrots from the garden.

there was great excitement in the air

on the back doorstep we found the evidence that the easter bunny had been, an empty basket and the tops of the carrots left behind,

we followed the bunny footprints across the paving and up into the garden.

coloured eggs had been hidden with care,

the grass dewy and cool, we hunted through bushes and flowers placing each found egg gently into the basket. at last there was just one left to be found... 

a special chocolate bunny and egg hiding in amongst the wheat grass green manure... 

a little girl who couldn't get at it fast enough.

back inside the chocolate eggs were uncovered from their shiny wrappings, the little egg eaten and the chocolate bunny left sitting on the table... maybe for later?

these days

this week... some stills with a distinctly autumn tone to them.

we have had a slow week mostly at home, giving some much needed time to catch up on some things. (hence all the shots are once again from around our home). 

my eyes were drawn to earthy colours and by the end of the week it was starting to feel a little more like autumn around here. the mornings so dark... we seem to wake up late but when we do venture outside there is that feeling in the air, that softness of autumn. the days are a little cooler and in the evening that feeling is there again... that autumn feeling, as the sun is setting, the days growing ever shorter.

1. jess and i created a autumn leaf hanging with some very crunchy leaves saved from last year and some wooden beads.

2. an early easter present arrived from granny. bunny ears and tiny easter chicks. they are adored and played with for hours and hours. granny always gives the best presents.

3. falling... leaves...

4. a cold(ish) morning chia tea about to be put on to brew.

5. we have very wide verandas around three sides of our house so the only time the sun actually shines in is in the evening or early morning. i do love the play of light and shadow cast across the walls.

6. i brought home a huge box of peaches from a local farm earlier in the week and their smell is beautiful as they await on the kitchen bench to be preserved. these, the last peaches of the season will satisfy our taste buds come winter and spring.

7. waiting for the chai...

8. fennel seed heads caught in the evening sun.

9 & 10. sisters. both with messy top knots, baking muffins together.

11. upon my kitchen bench... a new batch of kombucha tea fermenting away. little jars of sage and garlic infused honey, one ready to send off to my eldest daughter daisy and one for us, to sooth sore throats, if needed. and the most gorgeously packaged jar of coconut butter (the photo not doing it justice i am afraid!) it looks so lovely i almost don't want to open it. so absurd!

12. my knitting in the morning sun shine.

joining in with the super lovely Em.

spicy play dough fun

i know there are many ideas for play dough out there on the net already but it is all too easy to just put out the same old thing every time. we have had brightly coloured playdough, patty pans and birthday candles for nearly a year now. jess loves it but the adults in this house have had enough i think. time for a change...

  i have been interested in the reggio emilia approach for quite some time now. i love all the natural materials that are used for art and craft work and particularly the way the materials are set out but i haven't always thought about how to use some of the principles in my own home. that is until now. having recently discovered kate's beautiful blog an everyday story, i have been so inspired to think about how i am setting out materials and many ideas for using treasures found in nature or ordinary items found around our home.

a few days ago i set out a little provocation for jess... 

two lots of play dough, one with ground cloves and a little clove oil mixed in and the other with ground cinnamon. i added some bowls with whole spices, cinnamon sticks, juniper berries, star anise, cardamon pods, whole cloves as well as some bay leaves and dried orange peel cut into star shapes, all found in my pantry. i set it all out on wooden trays and kept the accessories very simple, adding only a rolling pin, knife for cutting and a wooden spoon for... well just in case it was needed and it looked right.

we started by smelling each spice and learning the names of each one. the play dough also smelt wonderful so that got a good sniff too and then the creating began. spice cakes and then spice people complete with handbags!

the natural earthy colours looked wonderful and with the smell of spices in the air it made for a very sensory activity. jessica loved it and so did i. i could definitely play play dough for a lot longer when using such beautiful natural materials. it had me thinking of all sorts of other natural play dough adventures in the future... fresh herbs from the garden with chopped rosemary and rosemary essential oil mixed into the play dough will be up next.

a fun hat

the day was hot. too hot to be out in the afternoon anyway. so what did i do? knitted a very warm beanie for jess, of course.

its the fun kids hat, a free pattern from the purl bee and the yarn is knit collage gypsy garden. it took around an hour and a half to complete and that was including learning how to use double pointed needles using this tutorial. i had never used double pointed needles and when i was getting organised to start knitting had just two needles out and wasn't sure why they had put five needles in the packet. maybe incase you lost a couple? mmmm... i had no idea! the tutorial was great though and i was soon on my way knitting and feeling very pleased with myself for having learnt a new skill. all of a sudden socks don't seem quite so daunting.

i think this hat is super cute. i have had it pinned for ages wanting to make it, so very satisfying to have completed another little project found on pinterest. it maybe, just sort of, justifies spending time on pinterest? maybe not!

jess loves this hat, probably something to do with the sparkly bits. she was more than happy to model it for mum and dad that day, then for big sister a few days later and then again when i asked if i could take some photos of it. so it would seem it is a hit and will be worn quite a bit when the cold weather rolls around... eventually! (we seem to be having a bit of a heat wave this past week... autumn? where are you?)

these days

this week... i am feeling incredibly grateful for all i have, my family, my home, my life. i need to hold onto these days of contentment.

1. a most beautiful sunset when all the world had turned pink.

2. jessica has a little habit of chewing her thumb nail lately.

3. sunhat and ponytail.

4. lovely pears ripening on the kitchen bench.

5. she caught a cold and had a rare afternoon nap on the couch.

6. a dear friend has two girls (8 and 10 years old) and whenever we visit they paint her toes. jess loves the attention they give her.

7. reading, wholefood for children by jude blereau.

8. story time with daddy.

9. a succulent brought indoors. i need to have more pot plants inside i think.

10. a ball of yarn ready for the needles.

11. a morning spent helping mum in the garden.