Zet the Monster - a gift for a friendly little boy

"And now, cried Max, let the wild rompus start..." Maurice Sendak, in Where the Wild Things Are.

It's been a while since I have posted, due to our school holiday fun and then some internet downtime.  Fortunately I am back online now and also back into routine with school having recommenced for Ess yesterday.  Along with my Kindermusik classes!  I am now teaching Semester 2 of Kindermusik for the Young Child to my dear 5 year old students and am really loving it.  They were all so motivated yesterday to learn and sing, play and explore their beautiful glockenspiels.  I was feeling refreshed after a lovely relaxing holiday break with comparatively large amounts of downtime and more time than usual to create things.

For neverending inspiration regarding things to create, follow me to visit Melissa Goodsell who has recently edited a new magazine entitled Australian Homesewn.  There are many inspiring projects made from delightful fabrics you have no doubt seen if you've been exploring Etsy along with me.  Melissa has her own store there as well.

We were in need of a little gift for a friend this month.  So in keeping with my commitment to give handmade gifts, I decided to make a little monster for our little monster friend.  We hope he continues to like it, apparently he carried it all around the shopping centre after first receiving it.  So thanks Mel, for your delightful pattern! It can be found in Mel's magazine.

1. Zet the Monster, 2. Zet the Monster, 3. Zet the Monster - the tail!

Zet was inspired by the monsters featured in the book Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. Here he is receiving a little love from Eee before giving him away.

There are more things we created together from the magazine and Mel's inspiration so I'll see you back here again with more of those...and some others of our own.

A Special Kind Deed for Easter Giveaway

The great Easter truth is not that we are to live newly after death - that is not the great thing - but that...we are to, and may, live nobly now because we are to live forever.
~Phillips Brooks

In a couple of weeks from now we will all be celebrating Easter.  So the period of Lent is almost over.  There is still a little time however for you to be involved in doing something special during this unique reflective time of the year.  In her Reception class my daughter has been encouraged to complete good deeds and kind tasks during the period of lent rather than focus on giving something up (like chocolate which so often people seem to do. They then binge on Easter Sunday with choc eggs.  Now tell me what is the point of that!!  You must read here for more info about An Ethical Easter).  I have really enjoyed watching her blossom and grow and perform kind deeds for us here at home.  Yes, sometimes she needs to be reminded but she is still growing and learning about life.

I have also been inspired by this concept and thought it might be nice if a little baby bunny would hop into your door to celebrate the New Life which Easter represents.  In order for you to receive your little bunny you simply need to do something unique and special which will surprise another and cause them to feel loved and appreciated.  When you have completed this task please share with us the surprise your recipient received by leaving a comment here.  On Easter Sunday Ess and I will read through all the kind deeds which have been performed and choose a winner for a precious bunny Easter Giveaway.

If you haven't yet read the story of some of the kind deeds in our home have a look here for Part I, II, III and Finale.

Wishing you a meaningful preparation for Easter time.

Gems of Nature in a child's eyes

Nature will bear the closest inspection.  She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain.  ~Henry David Thoreau

Photo of our Native Fuschia Correa Dusky Bells  from Flickr

While walking to school my mere school starter lamented "Oh Mummy the "Christmas Bells" don't grow until winter.  I am going to have to wait until Winter till they ripen up and I can pick one for "Bee"!" (I particularly love the use of the term 'ripen' here don't you :)).  Yes my daughter is five going on 105.  How wonderful though that by walking all these days she has learnt to search for beauty in her surroundings, to desire to share that with her best friend, to remember which season these lovely native flowers bloom.  She was expecting to find beauty!  How often do we have such expectations?  How often is our expectation limited by our surroundings?  I will take the cue from my daughter and always expect to find beauty - whether on the tail (hopefully) of a scorching heatwave, outdoors in Autumn (soon) or in the shopping markets listening to a busker play their violin.  (After all it could be Joshua Bell or James Cuddeford!)

The flowers do look so like a fuschia don't they but let me tell you they don't require the same delicate care and specific conditions.  They are very drought tolerant.  We see both Correa Dusky Bells and Correa Reflexa on our journey to school.

Speaking of appreciating nature, do you remember that wonderful movie of 1996 that was the official selection at the Cannes Film Festival.  It was revolutionary at the time for it's technology and cinematography...

Our girls have thoroughly enjoyed watching this and when my Generous Gentleman and I sat down to watch it last evening we could not shake a curious little 5 year old, resisting being in bed yet again, saying "but it's so interesting"!  We replayed it at breakfast time where it was enjoyed by all - with a running commentary from Ess.  Here is a lovely review with some wonderful pictures from the movie, Microcosmos.

A little while ago we found that ABC was showing Miniscule.  The gorgeous little vignettes delight and enthrall all of us.  Each Saturday we race through the bathing routine to be able to catch our 5 minutes of Miniscule.  There is one on tonight - Nap Time at 6.24pm.  They are quite comical and not actual representations of nature.  Tune in if you can.  Otherwise I have found some on YouTube.

Heatwave Gripes and Grats

Heat, ma'am! it was so dreadful here, that I found there was nothing left for it but to take off my flesh and sit in my bones.  ~Sydney Smith, Lady Holland's Memoir

Photo Courtesy ABC News.

We are in the midst of it here.  My daughter's first days of school will be remembered as being in an incredible heat wave.  Yesterday was the hottest day in 70 years and the third hottest day on record reaching 45.5 deg Celcius and I was out in it collecting my daughter from school with my 16month old baby on my hip.  We felt we could have put on some olive oil and roasted ourselves for dinner.  An amazing feeling!  I can only get the house to cool to about 26-27degC so that makes it very hard to cool down after an outing.

Last night was our highest minimum on record only dipping to 33.9deg just 12.30am.  It is no wonder I rose this morning feeling as though I didn't have any sleep at all last night.

The forecast does not bring much good news as for 7 days we will have hot days of 38deg and above.  The only saving grace will be minimums that go back down to 22degC.  Phew!!

Apart from that all is going well here. I am very very glad that we have not had powercuts as some have had.  Imagine not being able to keep your food cool in this situation, let alone keeping your body cool in an airconditioned house.  Our airconditioning is on 24/7 (not that it feels like it) and my fridge is working well.  We can feed ourselves comfortably.  My plants are feeling it but I think they are still edible at this stage.  I can only water on Wed and Sun and then only within three hours (which just happen to be my busiest with my littluns).  Othertimes I am trying to convince myself to stay outside in the heat just that little bit longer while Eee sleeps to water with my watering can.

Usually I like the heat, usually I have nothing to complain about, usually I say that so long as the aircon is on we are fine.  Sometimes I even feel cooler on the hottest days when we put on the aircon simply because it IS on.  Not this time.  This time we are all really feeling it.

Thankfully our basic needs are catered for.  Thus we can rest content.

Ess Goes to School

Making the decision to have a child is momentous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.  ~Elizabeth Stone

Today is Ess' first day of school.  Such a momentous and an emotional time with feelings of pride, excitement, sadness and achievement all mixed in together.

She is very ready to go and was prepared at 8am this morning.  I am so glad that she is ready to learn and to meet new people.  It gives me a sense of achievement at the work I have carried out over these last five years.   Work which I value so highly.  It has passed so quickly.  It does not seem that long since we put your feet in these tiny little Baby Paws to pad around the place.

Then pretty little baby feet were fastened into these sweet shoes to wear with all those adorable little baby dresses.

I have many memories of tying the laces of these gorgeous little Elefanten boots on your chubby toddler feet.  Particularly after all our Kindermusik Our Time lessons with Mr Geoff.

These little boots, of course in your favourite colour pink, walked you to Kindy last year.  You were quite surprised when the new shoes for this year's education could not be pink.  No complaints however - such is your motivation to be at school and hence wear your uniform.  I am so glad.

Shoes have a special way of showing the passage of time.  I have many images of your growing feet in these various shoes participating in so much over the few short years of your life.

Now school has commenced and we are walking off to education again, in uniform and sandals. I hope the motivation to wear it doesn't wane as it is now very easy to choose what to wear in the mornings.

There is a heat-wave here.  The whole week is due to be over 35degC at least. Yesterday the guage at the Central Markets (celebrating 140 yrs coincidently), and on my car, read 45degC at 3pm.  Today is forecast to be 44degC.  It was 39.8degC at 10am this morning after I arrived home at 9.30am ready for my second shower of the day.  No worries about any hot water this morning. The cool was definitely needed.  Overnight it dipped only to 27degC.

So against my principles, but going with my better judgement, I will drive to collect you this afternoon and hope your cheeks are not too red as they were when I left you this morning.

Enjoy your first day, my dear girl, I know you will.