Yiiiipppeeee

As of 12.00pm yesterday (when I submitted my speaking exam for Arabic) I officially began my summer holidays! Till March, March I tell you!

And what, you may ask, did I do to celebrate the occasion? Well I decided to tidy the shrapnel of notes that was carpeting my floor... and managed to sort the pile you see above which is the accumulation of notes, readings and essay drafts from the last three years! All to be pulped in the recycling mill and turn into... new paper? recycled toilet paper? I like that one day I might be using my old essays on my... Well Anyway I did some sorting. And I had a very colouful and delicious lunch. I baked a raspberry clafoutis. I wore my dancing ruffle skirt, and my red ruffly top. I met up with my Love and we had a wonderful dinner with friends.

I don't think I've ever felt more ready for these holidays,
and oh all the things I've got planned. Which you'll be hearing about soon.

Have a brilliant, fantastical, damn-right relaxing weekend!

Afternoon Thoughts

As I was walking to the postal box with many cards bound for the Northern hemisphere,

And then as I was walking home past a tiny streak of blue on bark that I'd never seemed to notice. I was glad I brought my camera with me to snap up its leathery skin,

As I passed the the cornflowers growing wild through iron fence. And felt them soft and papery against my cheeks,

And sitting outside as the sun gets low with a mug of seaweed tea. Reading, *trying to read* Arabic poetry in preparation for tomorrow's big exam - my final exam for the year. Reading:

الطيور في الأشجارة , نجمة, فراشة, حلم بلا نهاية

A bird in the tree, is a star, a butterfly, a dream without end...

I felt a little flutter,

a prickle of sunshine on my soul...

To know that there is colour. That we have eyes to see it.

That there are so many many things to learn about our world, and its people...

That we have minds to learn it.

We have mouths to speak and ears to listen.

That we have hearts

to feel, and love, and know -

That there is some crazy design to it all

and it is beautiful.

Letting go

In the past few days, events in the lives of dear friends have reminded me that letting go is not easy. That no two people experience grief in the same way. That you feel all manner of things and that you are doing all that you can do. That is all you can and need to.

But know that for what little it counts, I am here for you. And though it is not my grief, I will share it with you. And so will He.

Serendipity

After 10 months and a couple of days I have finished my very first quilt: Serendipity. This would not have been possible without the tender love, help and guidance of dear Alice. She believed in my crazy arrangement of fabric when nobody else would; helped me with the initial sewing, and when she came to stay with me back in July she helped me get a good start on the quilting (down the right-side very neatly I might add).

Making this quilt has been a whirlwind experience.
My life has taken dramatic twists and turns since I first began cutting squares and birds and triangles.
I let it lie dormant for months and months in a big bag under my bed because I couldn't face finishing it just yet. I have unfolded it and laid it out on the front lawn in various stages of completion, and felt inspired and reinspired.
I have taught myself to quilt, and pricked many fingers.
I have learnt to wear a silver thimble and love it.
I have noticed colours and details in fabrics I had never seen before.

Serendipity has seen me become more comfortable with myself;
seen me become more of myself.
It has held my anger, tears, sweat
and sweet and simple joy.

It is a patchwork of my favourite cottons,
of some belonging to others,
fragments of clothes -
and of memories.

And I know when the time comes to use it
(Time soon when I will have a double bed instead of single)
I will close my eyes
gently run my fingers along the seams
in the quiet hours of the night
remember its history past,
and imagine its history to come.

Sigh. Serendipity: Happy chance.

A walk along Short Street, Paddington

A stone's throw away from Alex's collage

is a neighbourhood in the heart of the city.

I often find myself there - for the joy it brings!

Its roads have become footpaths,

and has been slowly and lovingly transformed 

(with paint and pot plants) 

into a leafy oasis -

Oh how happily I would live there;

I would bring potted hydrangeas and jasmine and lemon trees,

leave messages in chalk for the children,

and paint our door red.

Scenes from the studio

My favourite thing to do on Friday is to visit Alex in his studio space.

You never know what you will find.
Sometimes we make tea in plastic mugs,
or we might wander across the road to the cafe next to the bicycle shop
and sip tea among old books.
Sometimes I poke my head out the window and look at little dogs running around fig trees across the road,
Sometimes we go exploring,
to see what other people are up to
like hair sculptures suspended from the ceiling (its true)

Sometimes I sit on my stool
and sketch onto a drop sheet
as we talk about life,

or I gaze at the work of his hands -
tiny hidden things,
layers, colours, words, papers,
I see them all and I love it.

And sometimes I think about what we'll create together one day,
and it warms my bones.

From a girl who loves to swap

Today is November 5th which means the official Alphabet Swap date. And boy do we have some wonderful letters this year! For those involved please please post photos of your received package in our flickr page. Thank you dearly for your comradeship. Till next year... 

And the above photos are of an alphabet concertina my sister and I got given for our room (back when we shared one) many many years ago. Its a bit torn and battered by oh so loved... 

Mr Jacaranda

Exactly two years ago

I posted about the purple rain
that comes this time of year -
Showering down on grass,
tarmac, and rooftops.

Of a certain old tree nearby,
who speaks in whispers
of Spring, and Exams

and Walking Barefoot.

With your purple between my toes
I try to remember who I was two years ago:
the thoughts I had,
and the dreams I carried in my heart
as I stepped under your branches -

I know that for all my wild imaginings,
If you told me where I would be now
I would never have believed it

and I am glad of that.

October Passing

Let me tell you how the end of October went -
as all weekends do these days,
(like a flashes of lightning)

The taste of peppery chai,
and the sunshine of spring against our cheeks.

The smell of star jasmine,
gardenias, lavender -
Of paint,
and the flutter of excitement in my stomach
upon seeing new work by my Love.

The waiting for buses,
beanbag beans,
and the serendipity of missing our stop
only to find treasures by the side of the road
(violets and an old art trunk)

Fostering. Artistic. Creations?
Feeling. Amazingly. Crafty?

The late night discussions,
and moving of boxes -
to the soundtrack of monsters of folk
and of new days
dawning,

The joy in other's joy
of declaration and commitment
in the Father's house,
(adorned with real citrus trees)

The joy in our art,
in friendships,
in family by blood and faith,
in the month that has passed,
in the months to come -

In that which binds us -
strong as lightning in the night,
love.

When I am feeling floristy

the loveliest flowers
(to me)
are found
in our garden,
and hanging gloriously,
free and triumphant -
over fences and footpaths
in my neighbourhood...

Food for thought

Lets talk about food cravings. Or just food in general... As many of you would have picked up about me on this blog I like to prepare food and I like to eat it. A lot.

I always find it so fascinating to hear and read about the particular things that people crave to eat and the way they eat them; does it reveal our innermost truths? does it change depending on where we live? or the foods we grew up on? does it change with the seasons? or with our hormones? why do we crave food that isn't good for us and vice versa?

Its quite astounding when you think of how varied edibles are in the world - and how many different ways one single thing can be prepared and eaten. I know that my body responds best to fresh, unprocessed foods - and because I have a slow liver I've become more conscious of what I'm taking in. The other great thing about fresh whole food is that you actually get to prepare it. My rule of thumb as a lover of good food (and as an artist) is to eat lots of different colours in fruit, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts and spices.

Yes. Our eating habits and our personal tastes are strange and unpredictable things.

For example, here is a list of things I regularly crave to eat:
-rolled oats (or oatmeal as some of you called it)
-plain unsweetened yoghurt
-fresh berries
-saffron-infused rice
-dark bittersweet chocolate
-ruby grapefruits
-avocados (with a spoon)
-freshly baked gingerbread
-almonds
-olives of all kinds

And a list of things I am HUGELY craving at this very moment:
-dried fermented olives
-seaweed powder tea
-tapioca pudding
-peal or "bubble" tea (mostly for the tapioca pearls)
-stewed rhubarb

(eaten today for second breakfast)

The strangest thing I've craved to eat, aside from dried fermented olives, would have to be raw cabbage leaves on linseed bread when I was 10 years old. To everyones disappointment that desire only lasted 3 minutes of one school lunch break - got half way through my sandwich and decided I'd rather be eating soggy vegemite and cheese (which I guess for all non-Australians vegetmite has to be a pretty insane food to crave but it is SO good)

And if I could be any food for a day I would be - either a bowl of green sicilian olives, a warm quince tarte tatin, chewy ginger cookies, or a cold spanikopita...

My questions for you are:
1. What do our food cravings say about us?
2. What do you regularly crave to eat?
3. What about at this VERY moment?
4. What's the strangest food you've craved?
5. If you could be any food for a day what would it be?

Happy Friday to you!
I'm off to eat some dried fermented olives...

Eye Exercises

I spy with my brown eyes:

Something beginning with "C" hanging from the roof, two plastic pineapples, an old motorcycle helmet, a yellow "x", one very handsome man, three old hand bags, a blue votive, a red fan, a blue fan, two very cool old tellies, a twisty glass vase, a red paper lantern, a blue-robed white-haired Jesus, a big round mirror...

Tell me, what do you spy?

Colour Right Now

picking blue on my walk. wearing green from the 40s. finding yellowed surprises. and orange ideas. making red rhubarb and raspberry fool. and eating it too.

what about you?

On my mind

So my new life,
like wings unseen to anyone,
unfurls as I rise from the ocean.
He died so that I might know life,
here and after
life with the Father,
life abundant.

Ruffles

Trying my hand at fabric ruffles.
So many wonderful tutorials and how-to's.
I'm seeing, thinking, dreaming

headbands and belts,
brooches,

the hem of a skirt,
the neck of a teeshirt,
the bonnet of a car,

of our getaway car