portraits..january 2016

5/52..

turning three & flower crowns

4/52..

early morning shenanigans,

she says "you SO love me" and I say " I SO do!"

3/52..

she has discovered her eldest brother's treasured tools, and I'm so very glad we kept them

2/52..

all the fru-fru, and hair that hasn't been washed in weeks!

1/52..

making peace with the ocean "it's lovely mumma.."

I'm joining in with Jodi's 52 project once again this year.  Looking back at last years moments captured made it difficult to deny participating  for another year.

I've still been using just my iphone, but it really needs to be time for a real camera.  I just don't know what frightens me so much!  Still, I love what we've got here so far.

the sunset series..where tradition began

twelve months ago, this is right where our birthday sunset tradition began.

this day last year we came down to watch the sun set on what would have been my cousins 40th birthday.  It was a way to acknowledge the specialness of the day, of him.

there was magic in the air that night, and when we got home Eddie said he wanted to do this with his kids when he grew up to be a dad.  So from that moment, we decided that watching the sun go down on birthdays was to be our new family tradition.

and so it has been ever since.

we'd just finished watching a movie and it was time for the boys to go to bed, but instead we grabbed our jumpers and ran out the door.  I was going to wander down to the beach on my own, because Olive was asleep already and everyone else was tired too.  But we left Nick and Harvey at home, and the three of us just ran.

we ran straight down the hill, laughing so much at how funny we must look in such a hurry, barefoot, the little guy in his jammies and my flappy down hill running style.

it was late and the light was fading, but we could see the sky's golden glow as we ran up the path and over the dunes.

the air was humid and thick, the waves rolling in loud and fast.

we'd made it, and the sight was magical!

these nights will become treasured memories for us all, they fill us up, every single time x

the big blanket..

I started this blanket back in January last year, slow summer days on the hook when it was too hot or too wet to be outside.

It soon became one of those projects that sat in the 'works-in-progress' basket for months on end because I kept starting on something new.

Every now and then I'd pick it up and crochet a row or two, I'd get distracted or run out of yarn and back in the basket it would go.  It's the first thing I've ever made that I wasn't in a mad rush to see completed.  I'm terribly impatient when I make.  I get an idea, I see the end result in my mind and I want it done now!

I'm not sure why this blanket was different, but it was lovely to have it sitting there, waiting for my attention whenever I was ready, giving me comfort when I needed it, distracting my mind with each new stitch.  Working on this was almost like a meditation.  

At one point I thought it was just not going to work out, but I couldn't bring myself to undo it.  We had a connection this blanket and I.

Eleven months later I finished off the last row, and I love it so very much.  It drapes invitingly over the end of Olive's (spare) cot in our room, and I stop to admire it every single day.  

It's not perfect.  Hiding ends is tricky with chunky, loosely worked yarn like this, and I think if I were to lie it flat it might be a little misshapen, but I have a feeling this big chunky cotton blanket is going to be loved by us for years to come regardless.

the sunset series..welcoming 2016

New Yeats Eve 2015.

We spent a balmy evening wandering rockpools, swimming, sitting and sipping champagne as the sun went down for the final time in 2015.

It's moments like this that ground me, that stop me dead in my tracks and force me to soak in all the wonderful.  This life we live down here on the coast is more than I ever dreamed I could have, what a blessing, how lucky we are.  I'm sure my kids get sick of hearing me say it, but I don't want them to ever take this for granted.

I don't know what 2016 holds for us.  I don't have my 'one word' and I don't have any resolutions. I feel a little unprepared for a new year to begin, and so I'm easing in slowly.  Perhaps I'll just strive to keep my heart and my mind open.  To live each new day one at a time, soaking in the moments and being grateful.

Thanks to you all for joining me here in this blogging space, albeit with less than regular posts these days.

Happy New Year to you all, may yours be all kinds of wonderful x