For Eleanor Violet

Look at us, said the violets blooming at her feet, all last winter we slept in the seeming death but at the right time God awakened us, and here we are to comfort you. ~Edward Payson Rod

On the day we expected my new niece to be born a couple of seemingly insignificant things happened.

Until I knew the name of my precious new niece I did not make any connection with the fact that:

~ for the first time I noticed this lone violet blooming out my new back door, in a wintry dirt patch surrounded by mysterious bulb shoots, waiting to welcome Spring.

~ for the first time my little Eee picked me a bunch of the violet shade of pansies and violas blooming in our front yard.

They must have been for you,

our precious, dear, Eleanor Violet.

Happy Birthday Eleanor Violet

26 July 2011

With love,

All of us

xoxoxoxoxo

Absolutely Adorable

In the sheltered simplicity of the first few days after a baby is born one sees again the magical closed circle , the miraculous sense of two people existing only for each other.

~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh | Aviator and Author

Cuddling and sleeping, nursing and resting,

stroking the softest silkiest skin

tickling tiny toes

rubbing eency fingers

This is what has been consuming my days.

We are all in the land of 'Absolute Adoration' here.

Do you remember that feeling?

Have you had the privilege off allowing a child to fill your being, consume your days, your heart?

I pray you do.

And to think that this is only a glimpse of the way that God feels about us.

I simply adore my new little treasure. She is an absolute delight.

Rippling, Relaxing, Resting and Waiting

Here I am resting, waiting, relaxing...still with a very large bump in front of me.

We are enjoying the colours Ess and I have chosen to make a woollen ripple blanket and I am very happy with the 100% wool I purchased from Bendigo Woollen Mills recently. It is excellent value for money, lovely and light wool, not too prickly and without any splitting at all when I work with it. This is a selection of the Classic 100% pure new wool range.

Wishing you a happy week. It is a pretty exciting one for us...filled with anticipation. By next week we will have met our new little cherub.

Hopefully we might introduce you too.

Water Bottle Carriers

I have been completing and commencing numerous sewing projects. I am attributing this to the lovely nesting phase I am now in. Although it is curious that I am organising things around our home to make life easier for us now, rather than really making anything for the new baby.

However I know these new water bottle carriers will make life so much easier for me when my arms become full with baby again - even though I use my sling with my little ones all the time. I have already found it so handy to be able to whip my water bottle over my shoulder to carry it out and about. The girls are also more keen to carry their own bottles. They did so previously, however there have been some drops and some ensuing dents in their stainless steel water bottles so the carriers work wonders for them also.

I really am so very pleased with these and my design of them, they have turned out just as I intended. So very happy :)

And of course there is one for my Generous Gentleman as well. He really enjoys using it which I am super stoked about as it is not often that I am able to sew anything specifically for him. I particularly like the way his has turned out and am really glad I saved that lovely Haigh's ribbon as it sets his off beautifully. Yes I was even allowed to decorate his slightly... so so pleased.

There are many other projects coming to completion in our home - some spring skirt making, cushion covers, bag holders, repurposing face washers for use in the laundry with some stitching and velcro, storage bag making, beach bag making, crochet ripple blanket commencement. Indeed I have been spending more time 'doing' than sitting and reading and writing about them. So let's wait and see how many I get to write about here.

Furthermore I am wondering how many more will actually reach completion with only about 10 or 11 days until our new birth day.

Treats

When one's tummy is growing

Along with a sweet little one inside,

One's level of exhaustion increases also,

Discomfort becomes common, experienced all day everyday,

Braxton Hicks contractions occur frequently...

A few little treats absolutely fill my heart anew.

:: roses from my Generous Gentleman waiting in our places

upon our arrival home late in the evening from Gymnastics ::

:: some Chiyogami paper from a sweet Japanese Shop

at the Adelaide Central Markets - Little Tokyo ::

We'll use these designs for a sweet pattern sent to us by my sister-in-law recently.

More to come soon.

Finally, we gather together as a family to enjoy lunch on a workday

Daddy, Mummy, our two little girls

at our favourite cafe

at the Central Markets.

A most precious treat for me!

Desiring to meet a new little one and become small once again,

Yet also knowing I have so much to do in preparation,

both mentally and physically in our home,

my brain is a bit mushy

my body is tired

along with my mind,

I wait, I rest, and take my time.

My Hot Summer Garden

The garlic chives are budding...

The capsicum are starting to fruit again after they were setback by our recent heatwaves.  I can only hope that the heat due at the end of this week (up to 40degC again for a few days) will not sizzle the new flowers and potential budding fruit.

I do not know how this petunia thrives.  It was bought by my Mum when little Eee was born nearly 18 months ago and just keeps coming back.  Such a beautiful bright pink, the photo just doesn't do it justice.

and just look at all these rosebuds....Wow!  Adelaide is definitely the city for roses.  They just can't seem to go wrong.  If you are living here and you don't have one, I strongly recommend you plant one.  This is a rare case of masses of beauty from very little care.

How we have this is really beyond me as our water restrictions are very limited.  I can water with the watering can or bucket, and try to each couple of days, but I have other duties with two littleuns which I must prioritise.  I can water with the hose on Sunday and Wednesday at times when I am usually asleep or preparing meals and bathing the girls. So that doesn't happen regularly either.  Some reports say we have had 1mm of rain this year, yet apart from a few drips I remember on this day, I cannot recall a time when this might have been, perhaps it was down south.  The rainfall for February was supposed to be 20% above average.  The average is 10mm I believe, so we have about 5 days for 12mm of rain to fall.  Possible, I guess, but with a forecasted heatwave I cannot see that happening.

So I wait for Autumn without holding my breath.  Autumn is a lovely time - so cool, so refreshing, so colourful.  I find myself being very creative in Autumn usually so I look forward to this season.

My little giveaway is still open so if you haven't commented yet, please do so on the post below.

Eee’s Arrival

When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Native American proverb.

Just over 7 months ago, on 30 August 2007, we experienced a day unlike any other, little Eee graced us with her presence and added a new dimension to our simple life. She delights, frustrates and brings us joy.

Those chubby cheeks remain and delight. Mummy wrote this simple song for you.

Ten little fingers, ten little toes.
Two blue eyes and one button nose.
Chubby cheeks and legs as well.
I love my little Eee, so well.