A few photos...

Boo came in from the dress-up box looking like this -


We went camping for a few weeks over Christmas. We spent most of the time at the beach, surfing, swimming, eating, making sand castles and just generally enjoying the sunshine.



One of the parks we stayed in had a simple rope flying fox which we would like to copy at home. The kids played on it for hours.

While the girls were playing on the flying fox, Boo was over near the tree doing the haka. It was so funny to watch. I'm not sure if he was trying to scare the girls away or impress them.

Parry's has a little rockpool which is sheltered from the wind and the big waves. It is definitely a camping spot that we'll continue to go back to no matter the season. It had something for everyone.

DragonGirl and Boo were rolling down the sand dunes and thoroughly enjoyed getting covered in sand and then running out to the ocean and washing off.

We've been picking apricots, plums, figs, boysenberries, strawberries and apples from the garden. We also have cabbages, pumpkins, watermelons and tomatoes that are close to eating.

Our sunflowers are in full bloom.

My First Market Stall!

I did it! Ten days of sewing from early morning until late at night. Ten days of not seeing many people, not gardening (something I normally do for hours a day) and getting blisters on my fingers from hand sewing. Ten days of DD and DS asking me to do the usual things we do together and me having to say no.

Summed up that way it sounds like a terrible experience but it wasn't. I feel expanded, stretched and I've learnt a lot. When I went to bed last night I said to DH, 'tomorrow I don't want to see a needle, touch material other than the clothes I'm wearing or eve go into the sewing room. And yet, this morning I woke up with designs rolling around my head and wanting to go op-shopping to find some more material.

I had limited time, so kept things very simple. Next time I want to embellish more, have more variety and do the things I would have liked to this time. I think I need to get a logo, design a simple website and make up some business cards. I also want to make my stall more pretty. I'm thinking sheets from the op-shop turned into corner curtains (like a 4-poster bed) and some dangly bits from the roof. And a banner would be great.

I shared the stall with my step-father who is a painter which was a relief because it meant I didn't need a huge amount of stock, but next time I'll have more room for things. The business cards as tags that Belinda from Spiral Garden suggested worked very well.



Some things that I made were -

The ring slings

Cloth pads

Play mats

that turn into little bags

Felt crowns

And colourful overalls

I covered my costs and made a small profit (under $100) but I'm happy with that for a first time. My biggest fear was that I wouldn't sell anything!

A local shop has put in an order for 5 ring slings, the cloth pads, hoodies and the overalls. I am sooooo excited.

Summer is here in all it's glory.

The weather over the last couple of days has been stunning. We have been at the beach the last 3 days, soaking up the sunshine and getting a little pink on the cheeks.

The garden is blooming and fruiting at high speed. This morning I picked youngberries, strawberries, blueberries, lettuce, silverbeet, kale, spinach, 3 figs, 2 lemons and 4 plums, along with some lemonbalm, mint and thyme.

I also picked a heap of weeds which are flourishing too, for the rabbits.

Despite being separated the rabbits have still managed to have babies. (I am assuming Pegasus was pregnant before we moved her - though, it is the season for immaculate conceptions...) They were still closed eyed and wobbling around a week ago and are now quite agile and fast.
Circus is finished up for the year. DragonGirl really enjoyed herself though she is looking forward to drama starting up next year which is her favourite of the three activities (circus, drama and dance) on offer.

The group put on a performance last week for parents and the older kids. They were all proud as punch when we applauded at the end.

DragonGirl and Boo decorated a tree outside which Corby has named the Jolly Solstice Tree.

Normally I do the tree inside and hang decorations in the windows. As we move away from all things Commercially Christmas, the traditions are changing. The plastic tree and the tinsel will go to the op-shop in January and our tree will be outside from now on. I am hoping that next year it will be decorated with more homemade decorations and no baubles and plastic.

We've been making gifts, like this tic-tac-toe game which is made from felt, velvet, coloured thread and the clay buttons.

The felt, velvet and thread are from our Seasonal packs that we get from Spiral Garden. The clay is air-dry clay that we got from the local craft shop.

Friends of ours get their clay from a stream near their house and it seems to dry well. I think once our supply has run out, I will go and get some of theirs and try it out. The clay under our soil gets too crumbly when it dried, though I am sure with a little research I would find out there is something we could add to it.

DragonGirl and I have also being making the hoops for the wreathes. These two are made from cuttings from the apricots trees I just planted and from an obnoxious vine that keeps trying to take over the yard.

We will decorate them with shells, seeds, dried leaves, flowers and scraps of fabric and ribbon.

Planning for Summer Solstice

This year we are toning down on Christmas even more. For the last few years we have minimised on the commercial aspects of the Season and we never did the santa thing (though we've taught DD about St Nicholas) anyway.

For the past two years we have followed the Season of the Year and matched our homeschooling and lifestyle activities to them. Down here on the South Coast we get four definite Seasons which makes it easy really.

So, as Spring is coming to an end I've pulled out our books, Seven Times the Sun by Shea Darian and Earthwise by Carol Petrash, which I picked up from http://www.spiralgarden.com.au I also find Sunwyse by Roxanne T. Bodsworth and Circle Round by Starhawk, Diane Baker and Ann Hill, useful resources.

For us Summer is about the beach, harvesting stonefruit and berries, eating and playing with friends and family. We get clear sunny days and spend most of our daylight hours outside in the garden.

We will collect shells, flowers and interesting rocks for our Seasonal Table. We have already planted a heap of seeds, which we will watch grow to maturity, including sunflowers of course. The image of Summer.

We made a batch of strawberry jam yesterday and preserving and drying will continue right through to Autumn.

DragonGirl would like to try some basket weaving and make a wigwam. I would like to make a wreath woven with grasses and vines from the yard and decorated with flowers and ribbons. And we'll get the clay out and make some Sun images.

We've picked a tree to decorate out in the yard and we'll make the decorations from things we find over the next couple of weeks. I thought we might try again for the Garden Party and perhaps decorating the tree would be a good activity for the kids to do.

Learning new things

I've only got a few more weeks left of the Creative Journalling course I'm doing. It's been great to learn new things, explore new mediums and do some favourites too. We get to paint, glue, cut, dye, collage and many more things.

Last term we collected and exchanged paper napkins. Some of the designs you can get are amazing and I've often thought that they look too lovely to use.

I chose 3 different napkins and then made a design, highlighting it with gold paint.

I love having 3hrs a week that is entirely for me. DragonGirl and Boo are being taken care of and I get to sit and create to my heart's content.

Homeschooling suits us all and I enjoy having the time with the kids but it's nice to have a break too. While J-Boy was visiting, he found the constant noise and company a little too much. I was a meany and didn't let him watch much tv (because I didn't want the kids watching it with him) and in the end he resorted to playing lego with earplugs in!

One of the best things about home educating is that we get to set our own timetable (or not set one as the case may be) and that means trips to the beach that we otherwise wouldn't get.

While J-Boy was here we went out the dinner and he got all dressed up. This one's for you Mum...

You could smile more darling, you have a gorgeous smile.

I found this next picture on my camera while I was loading them onto the computer. Corby took it while I was away.

On his soapbox? :)

Last week was all about socialising for us. We had visitors every day and of course enjoyed every minute of it!

This week is all about gardening. I picked up 8 new fruit trees on Friday - they were at wholesale prices through a friend which is why I got so many. Two apricots, two apples (heritage red and green), a peach, a green plum and two pears. I just need to find spots for them now. I am thinking 3 out the front in the mandala garden, 3 in the middle section and 2 right out the back.

And the mulch arrives tomorrow, ready to spread out on all the gardens. I am going to focus on the front and the ones down the very back of the yard.

Spring time is busy in the garden.

Sewing and crafting has cranked up a notch too in our household. I organised my work space which has made things easier. It's so great having the granny flat to work in. I've got orders to get out and of course christmas is coming.

We don't really celebrate 'christmas' as such but we give gifts and feast together with friends. For us it is a celebration of Summer, growth and harvest, the beach and endless entertaining.