Saturday 28 June 2008

the crazy rabbit and other crafting disasters


yes the bunny has either myxomatosis or some other crazy rabbit disease. baby boy first screamed and then laughed. so not the most successful of projects! in fact it's not the first project of late which has decided to take on a mind of its own, tangle itself up like a ball of wool, and come out the wash pink when it went in white.

so is this crafters block? do my latest array of wild animals and ill fitting clothes represent something else? perhaps a time that everyone has when their brain and hands, and creative lightening bolts don't seem to line up. it has nothing to do with happiness, or contentment, and sometimes when i look at these disasters i seem to smile to myself and chuckle a little, somehow they make the successes so much better.

i think my next project will be untangling my wool bags and putting in order the terrible mess i have made.


hey, at least my tomato plants are getting big!!!


rr

Wednesday 25 June 2008

summer so good


it's funny, i have spent all year waiting for june to come around and now it's here i don't quite know what to do with myself.


i think it's because on the boat the winters seem so extreme as the weather affects you in every way. the wind rocks you about and the cold and dampness seep in and cling to everything. so it's nice to look forward to warmer days when our little floating home can dry out and we can fling open the windows, let the light shine in and clear the cobwebs from our heads.


to get us in the summertime mood when the weather isn't living up to its promises, we've been listening to this. it's the summer show from bob dylan's theme time radio hour. it's really great.
so i guess i should just let go and relish these precious days with my nearly one year old. enjoying the moments as they come and go. without always looking to the next thing. cream teas, cloud gazing on sunny afternoons and the beauty of cut flowers. it couldn't be better really.

sw

Monday 16 June 2008

for all my family and friends


i am feeling very loved right now. i just turned 30, and after a few weeks of my birthday not being mentioned, and the subject being tip toed around i was bombarded by surprise after surprise. my my i have a good man. this is the beautiful sunset we watched while spending the night in our friends chalet on whitsands beach. we ate well, drank copiously and had an amazingly relaxing time.


stick doing the dishes, and me! i love these reflection pictures. Francs sand castle which soon after this picture was taken was destroyed. sometimes i think kids enjoy the tearing down as much as the creating.


me and my boy.


so that was thursday night. we left fairly early on friday and headed back to the blue cottage. i was overwhelmed to discover that my dear sister, stan, and mum had secretly arrived the night before. i was over the moon. so was franc who enjoyed cuddling up with his granny on the sofa.


so you might think the story is over but it really has just begun. the surprises kept on coming firstly in the form of dear ken, and the lovely sylvesters arriving just before midnight on friday. i was so happy to be spending the day with my family and friends that it was quite an effort to get me where they all wanted me to be. to the souk, a very special little eatery oozing with atmosphere. wow yet another surprise!
a party with so many friends all together in the same place. the food was great, the company was perfect and i had so many wonderful and thoughtful gifts including a large collection of money for me to finally buy myself a chicken run and a couple of egg laying birds, some beautiful fabrics, thanks sis,


some sheins of morrocain wool purchased from the wall of the restaurant,


some great books.


the partying went on into the night, and then some more into the early hours of the morning. it was good. i am so lucky and happy happy happy


happy.

rr

Wednesday 11 June 2008

the daylight zone


i get up early. well i have to as my alarm clock these days comes with full working limbs and a cheeky grin! so why is it that every day as we attempt to get anywhere we are always late. honestly i don't know how it happens but some time between breakfast and leaving the boat loaded with various supplies for the day ahead, we seem to lose a good few hours and i just can't put my finger on it. and suddenly i am racing with the pram to get somewhere fast. granted the places we generally have to be, meeting our friends usually, means that it's not essential we are there at an exact time, but i'm sure we are trapped in some kind of vortex where time speeds up at a certain hour each morning. or does it really take that long to make stan's lunch and pack his bag?!

lunching in lounge pants!

we have had such a busy may. lots of people to see and places to be. it's been lovely, but i am looking forward to a quieter time at home this month. enjoying the sunshine and relaxing picnics on the beach, like this one we had the other day. stan is sporting his new retro lounge pants as we like to call them in this photo.
his aunty and uncle came to visit for the weekend and they got this gorgeous outfit for him. it's so comfy and made of fine knit cotton so won't irritate his eczema in this hot weather. they even have a little front pocket, perfect for storing raisins. and even better it's made by a locally based company. talking of buying locally we have just discovered a new natural eczema cream for stan by pure potions. i like that it doesn't smell perfumed and is just full of pure goodness.


our weekend visitors were also laden with lots of exciting treats. homemade oat cookies. delicious. lettuce from their garden, which we ate with our lunch on the beach and this lovely handmade tea towel. we will think of them every time we use it.


like me, aunty k has a bit of a penchant for beautiful fabric, so we were very excited to hear about a new shop in town. we managed to get there at the end of the day and came away with some great finds. she bought a lovely japanese printed black cotton, and a blue flowery fabric, and i got a blue fabric with a cute little white chicken print. she photographed them with some of my other recent finds. i did have a fanciful notion of making a matching outfit for me and stan out of this mustard coloured fern print. a dress for me and shorts for him. is that silly?


and we had our last wedding for a while. it was such a beautiful day and our dear friends looked so lovely.


i made this gift for them to commemorate the day. lavender filled hearts. i am pleased with how they turned out.


and finally, so glad to have you back in our life mcnulty. we sure have missed you and your pals.


sw