Visual Stimulation

Pleasure is spread through the earth

In stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find.

~William Wordsworth, 1806

As you might imagine, days are very busy here. I am enjoying Spring coming indoors through these beautiful tulips - a gift from my lovely family as they shop at the markets while I care for our new treasure - just a month old today.

Many many days I have thought of ways I could share with you all the various happenings of our lives yet the time to reflect and write seems to elude me. I am sleep deprived and the urge to lie down in bed with my eyes shut definitely most often wins. Lots of reflection happens as I sit and feed, nurturing my new child in the comfort of my arms as we rock together.

My other little pair are aptly cared for, educated and nurtured with lots of assistance from my wonderful Mum and loving husband. For this I am deeply grateful. The time they have given is invaluable.

Indeed it is certainly wonderful to learn about how our lives began with a real life model. We have watched as our baby's vision has developed. We have seen her eyes open more and more day by day, watched as she began to focus on our faces close by, seen her drawn to effects of light and shade. We have enjoyed designing our own graphics for her to view and stimulate the development of her brain. These days we have to cover her eyes so she will settle to sleep as sometimes it seems all too enticing to continue popping that head up to peek around at the happenings of our busy household.

Ess' overlapping circles coloured for baby

Ess explores shapes in black and white for visual development

My own attempt at creating for our little one

We are all very proud of our precious Ess as she has baked her very first cake, indepently. A delicious chocolate cake using a lovely recipe of Donna Hay's as seen on Junior Masterchef recently. It was absolutely delightful watching her in the kitchen by herself only asking for assistance to collate ingredients beyond her reach.

Ess has definitely taken a shine to baking over the years and is now devoted to Junior Masterchef which we actually came across by accident. She is now aspiring to compete when she is 10 or 11 years of age. We wish her luck.

The cake was delicious and we look forward to our next one...soon please my darling.

There has also been a little 'rippling' happening here. Even if I only do 10 or 20 stitches a day it is enough to give me a little space and something of my own to do. Something which nurtures me in amidst all the 'little people nurturing'.

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.

The Cutest Little Chef

There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child.

There are seven million. ~Walt Streightiff

These little eyes are keenly watching her Daddy as he prepares a full cooked breakfast for us all on the weekend. You see he really truly is a very Generous Gentleman. I get to sit down nursing my growing bump while he prepares food and...wait for it...cleans up the greasy mess afterwards. I know, I am truly blessed.

I know she is learning so much as she perches herself on her pink stool by her pink Daddy in her pink pajamas with her pink apron and her pink chef's hat perched upon her head.

I know one day she'll be keen to be preparing meals for her loved ones also. She's also been known to don her apron and hat to assist us with pizza making at lunch time. Ah bliss, me and my growing girls preparing our lunch together. It's what I always dreamed of, although it is perhaps a little more challenging that my dreams would have had me believe in my younger years.

I made this little outfit for my little pink three year old for her birthday. Well that was the intention at least. Halfway through stitching it I sent my machine off for a service which lasted longer than I'd hoped. The sewing machine needed more repairs than planned as it is a 20 year old Pfaff machine, made in Germany, which the technician convinced me would be better off being repaired than my buying a new computerised one made in China. I agreed. And I love it...all over again...it is like new!!

So it is a little late in coming, but that doesn't matter does it!

My source: Kid's Apron and Chef Hat

Lots and Lots of Water

We never know the worth of water till the well is dry. ~Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732

You may have noticed my comments over the years about little rain, lots of dry and lots of heat. Also further comments about the persistence of cold, rainy, wet days we have been having this year. These days have been very welcome as it did seem that the drought continued on and on. Indeed it is not since our very first year here in Adelaide, 2005, that I have experienced such rain and periods of wet. I recall driving through the Adelaide Hills during the wet spring of 2005 in awe and wonder at the amounts of water flowering down creeks and rivers, wondering why Adelaide had such a reputation for being a dry city and South Australia, a desert state. Over the years I have come to realise.

This year however, the tide has turned. The rains have returned.

After our Father's Day brunch it was our dear Generous Gentleman who suggested we take a drive in the hills to view the spillway at Kangaroo Creek Reservoir. We had very heavy rains with storms on Friday which has filled most of the reservoirs to over 90% capacity.

Kangaroo Creek Reservoir

We made our way towards Gorge Road where the views were spectacular. We parked along the side of the road with numerous other residents wandering along the main road viewing the sights. Cars were everywhere in a place where you would never usually stop and get out along this windy stretch of road. Yet the small car park was overfilled!

Spillway overflowing at Kangaroo Creek Reservoir

This site is the one we were all eager to view. Spectacular!

To be reminded of the enormous power of water, take a peak at this video.

The flooded River Torrens further downstream

I'm not sure how many escape routes these people have!

Meanwhile many parts of the north of Victoria are in flood and people have been evacuated from their homes. Our thoughts are with you, our neighbours to the east.

The First of Spring

The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month. ~Henry Van Dyke

As we looked around outside today, trying to stay warm and wondering whether spring really had come, we were greeted with only grey clouds, cold winds and winter showers. I still have no complaints, I love the rainy days.

I still have something special to look forward to this spring.

In under one month now, we will have a new spring cherub to greet us, which will be brighter than all the flowers that spring will shower us with this year.

I have always wanted to have a spring baby, little Eee came a couple of days earlier than I was expecting, although she came on time. This new little blossom will certainly be here before Spring is over.

Wishing you a joyous Spring, or Autumn my dear friends and family in the north.