Playing the day away

My current favourite quote - it helps me to focus on the important things.

I love it when family come to visit. This week we have the pleasure of hosting my sister Cath and her daughter Elsa, and my Mum for the coming weekend too.
Yesterday was a rainy day of play for Rosie and her cousin, with Bethany tagging along, while little sis' and I attempted to catch up and cook warming meals.

 

Again I am reminded that the bonds of family can be strong despite distance as Cath and I just picked up where we left off last time we were face-to-face.

And now we experience, too, the joy of our daughters looking forward to meeting again. And for these girls, the strength of their play is their forte and the way they naturally learn.

 

 I am reminded of a another quote, this one by Charles Schaefer:

"We are never more fully alive, more completely ourselves, or more deeply engrossed in anything than when we are playing".

I think this applies to all of us, young and older, don't you think?

Autumn Beauty

I love the way Mount Beauty is surrounded by colourful, deciduous foliage at this time of year.
I love the colours in Autumn that light up the streets and colour the view from our front window.
I love the dry crunch underfoot of a carpet of leaves as I walk from playgroup to the bakery with my daughters.

I love a cool Autumn bike ride with my loved ones alongside the river.

 

I love the first lighting of the fire and the crickle crackle of that carefully harvested wood.

I love watching my girls run through the piles of dry leaves around our small town and throw them up in the air to fall as snow.

I love the pumpkin soups that are made as our pumpkins ripen and the days grow colder.

And I love the knitting that is inspired by the cold hands and bodies we have at this time of year.

This is Autumn in Mount Beauty for me.



Feel-good Laundry Powder

I've made this a few times now, first as a liquid and now as a powder, which is much less time consuming but still effective in the wash. Of course it takes more time than buying a packet of pre-made laundry powder from the shops but I'm not interested in saving time anymore (what am I saving it for?), I'm much more interested in living each moment with meaning and deliberate intent. Making my own laundry powder connects me with one of the larger jobs at home in an organic, authentic way. I feel that I am doing good, being creative AND cleaning my families clothing all at the same time. And that feels good.

Here is my 'Feel-good Laundry Powder' recipe:

2 x bars vegetable-based soap
1 tub Borax
1 cup bicarbonate soda
1 pkt washing soda

Grate the soap bars then mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour into a large glass jar or two for storage. I usually choose two different soaps and make a double batch in two different jars.
The mixture can separate a little as its poured out - just shake it up before you use it and I find it works out fine.

Happy Washing!

Happy Mama's Day

I know some of you are having special meals made, going to high teas and going on family outings and I wish you a beautiful time with your loved ones.
For me? I think the beauty of Mother's Day is the impetus to pause and reflect on myself as a Mum - to really seek out the positives about my mothering and my relationship with my girls and husband. For as Mothers I think we're all doing our best, whatever that is at the time, but find ourselves wishing we could be better sometimes, perhaps being too critical of ourselves.
So today, for me, is a day to put that critical voice aside and really celebrate what I am doing - loving our children, building our home and life together and learning and growing.
To all those Mamas in the world that we hold dear to our hearts, we wish you a lovely day.

Goldilocks and the housewarming party

One of the things I really love about Mount Beauty is the closeness of the people here. New families are welcomed with open arms, almost like extended family themselves. I guess Mount Beauty is a small town so people here share a bond in their desire to be in this special place.
We have met many, many likeminded families since our move here four years ago and are still delighted to be sharing our time with them in the outdoors, in our homes andd with our children.
And so it was that our family of four found ourselves at a very fun housewarming party one lazy Saturday afternoon recently where costumes matched the '70's carpet and I found myself in a gold wig quoting Shakespeare (badly). Ahem.

Chickens in the sun

Our new chickens; Pippi, Poppy and Henny Penny have been released into their new pen, much to their delight. We have observed with excitement their scratching, dust-bathing and general happiness in the sunshine.
It feels good to have chicken who free-range in green grass under fruit trees.
We look forward to more eggs and planting more fruit trees in our mini chicken orchard in the next few weeks.
Ps. Photos taken by Rosie :-)

Slowing life down

So often I'm rushing about. Sometimes this is an obvious 'OMG we're going to be late for that train, we'd better hurry'. But more often its a subtle state of mind where I find myself thinking almost-subconscious thoughts that rush life past me.
For example, I routinely think ''there's not enough time', 'hurry up Mama' and 'if I just get this done then everything will be okay'. And this last one is the classic one that sneaks up on me. So much so that sometimes just being at home can be overwhelming just because there's always 'just one more thing' to get done.
Often I read about the need to stop buying more 'stuff' to make yourself happy. But I want to add to this; 'I need to stop getting stuff done to make myself happy'. Sure there's work that needs doing, but letting it drive my life is like letting a giant vacuum cleaner be in charge (although I admit the carpet would be cleaner) - always sucking away creativity and open-minded ness.
What I want to focus on is taking a deep breath and being still.
Just still.



...and allowing myself to be happy with where I am now.

I quit sugar week 4

"eat to live, don't live to eat"

Three and a half weeks into quitting sugar and I'm feeling quite good. My physical cravings for sugar have gone but my emotional attachment to it is taking longer to release its hold on me.
In the meantime I've been thinking more about the quote above and how it relates to me. I can see that life would be simpler and slower if I only ate to live - eating would be a simple affair, no treats or emotional attachment. It seems like a far off Eutopia but perhaps life would be sweeter there.