Fabulously Flawed

via google

 "I used to think I was the strangest person in the world but then I thought, there are so many people in the world, there must be someone just like me who feels bizarre & flawed in the same ways I do. I would imagine her & imagine that she must be out there thinking of me too. Well, I hope that you are out there & read this & know that, yes, it's true I'm here & I'm just as strange as you."

-Frida Kahlo

Do you ever feel strange, flawed; wonder what on earth our time here is all about, really?

 I know I do.

I was so relieved when I found Freda Kahlo's reflection.

The older I grow the more flawed I feel, yet I am making peace with those imperfections & dealing kindly with myself.

I am kinda wondering more though, how do I make the most of this coming year being me, in the life that I have?

You really do have to have a bit of a think about such things...did you notice, by any chance, how fast last year just disappeared?

"We spend January 1st walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives.... not looking for flaws, but for potential"

Ellen Goodman 

There are lots of quotes like the one below floating around, but this one I liked best..

via pinterest

 "Live in the present & make it so beautiful it will be worth remembering".

The thing that has always really bothered me is all the ugly, the grotesque, the boring.

 Not ordinary, ordinary has it's place, but ugly, ugly is awful.

Looks like my quest is still to seek out, notice & create that which is beautiful.

I can do that!

After all as Pearl says..

That means you have to like the life you have & give it your best shot & if you don't like it then change it...one little bit at a time!

A month or so ago, Sophie at Her Library Adventures shared her Life List that she'd recently invented.
Reading through Sophie's list I became aware that my list would be entirely different were I to write one. Where as Sophie dreams of teaching English in a foreign country, taking singing lessons, learning to juggle & about cloud formations etc

mine would be...?? mmm

Take a goose on an outing???
This is soooo Rob's grandmother Patsy, it really could be her. She was completely ditsy, eccentric & delightful!

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Actually I want to:
~ Read the Wind in the Willows.
~Worry a lot less.
~I am going to spend this year building up my health
and not carrying other people's stuff around.
~I want to make the calico/tablecloth patchwork curtains for the bedroom that I've had sitting there for ages.

Rob says he wants to learn to spell better.
And we thought being kind to each other all year would be good and after all...

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and what was the other thing?

oh yes fun, I want to have more fun!...how about you?

MUCH

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Festive Bustle & Merry Christmas ♥

How are you doing with all the Festive bustle?

Isn't this the loveliest old card. Looks awfully like a Margaret Tarrant to me.

from Leaping Frog designs

 I think that if one more person asks me at the check-out, or anywhere else at all for that matter, "Are you all organised for Christmas?" I might be rude to them!!
No, I'm not...organised!
I'm in a muddle, but I am doing my best & too bad if some bits get missed out!
And does it really matter?

A few weeks ago I found this interesting vase arrangement at Connections..I liked it's lines.

It was quite happy to be tucked in between two angels.

I have been reminded of how much I like the simple, unexpected things that turn up in this season like these fascinating red bananas I've never seen before & red currants..isn't that a lovely way to present them (Farmers' Market) & early peaches..it's the scent of them I like the most.

And then there's other bits & pieces tucked away in cupboards that need to come out & join the party, like my depression glass angel wing dish.

I even have my own produce presently.

When I went to my organics shop on Monday I found a friend, hanging on a twig by the counter. 

Lily is a garden fairy too.

 She was hanging about with quite a community of friends, all adorned with the prettiest soft pastel colours. I think she's adorable.

It doesn't get dark here until pretty late just now, as we are right on the summer solistice so we don't have as much opportunity as the other side of the world to enjoy pretty lights & candles, but wherever find ourselves, light seems to help create an atmosphere that bathes everything in a mellow glow & soothes away the jagged edges of crankiness & the demands of the season. 

David came home last Saturday. 

Violin in hand, boxing gloves in the suitcase.

 Interesting dichotomy.

Great to have him here though.

 He & his father have cerebrally lofty conversations from time to time.
I shant explain, just now, but this is The Quantum Tree.

 Isn't it pretty.

A friend rang for Rob yesterday & wished him a "family christmas" That isn't necessarily a good thing! Some bits of the season we have control over & others we just don't, however, I figure that it is a fine thing to bring happiness to others by being our wonderful selves...don't you agree!

When I saw this picture on Pinterest the other day I thought, ah...perfect!

 Perfect gifts for those we love.

Jar of sweetness.

Jar of tenderness.

Jar of kisses.

Jar of smiles.

Jar of love words. 

And you, dear ones..well I am so glad to have you as my friends & visitors. 

I do hope that your Christmas time is rich & loving & that you would find peace in the busy-ness, comfort for the losses of the year & hope in your heart for the year ahead.

I'd love to see you again soon, after the bustle is over.

MUCH

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A Child Shaped Door

I just love epiphanies (when the light goes on)... really good ones tend to put a silly smile on your face..something like this, to be sure...dear Richard Briers..isn't he lovely!

via google

All this talk of childlike-ness has been perculating around my brain quite a lot in the last month or so. In the process I have come to realize, that I don't really have any fond or wonderful childhood Christmas memories. Christmas time for me has always been associated with loss, tension, obligation & a nagging feeling that something rather fundamental was lacking in the whole deal. It was when I felt most like a misfit, unimportant & unseen. Wonder seems to have leaked through the floor of my little life. 

Wonder only flourishes when you feel safe & loved & secure.

 I am having another go & learning to be childlike again.

Things are becoming simpler nowadays.

I've discovered childlikeness means you notice stuff, you happily live in the moment & with an open heart.

You don't just walk past the toadstools in the lawn & sometimes you make daisy chains.

You never consider why you love raspberries but hate liver & would not dream of apologising for such preferences. 

All this has made me pause & consider just how many other little ones might be out there feeling insecure & displaced & sad this Christmas...with all the peace, joy & goodwill floating about it's quite easy to feel that such things belong only to others & that nobody wants to hear that you're actually feeling sad & in fact not really merry at all.  

These days I am finally silencing the voices of the critics (inner & outer) & learning just to be..

sometimes there is even joy..

maybe, moments of childlike abandon

and sweetness.

via we heart it

 I do vividly recall, long ago, however, a peculiar feeling that came over me when I was told at Sunday school about Jesus & the Kingdom of Heaven. I decided then..that's the place I want to be...always.

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The other day I found this little book for a few cents.

and in it was my favourite Sunday school song "All Things Bright & Beautiful"

It is a mysterious place the Kingdom of Heaven.
And here is my epiphany:
The entranceway is a most unusual shape.

A childlike shape.

 Adults who think they're in charge just won't fit, no matter how much they push & shove & grizzle.
I guess if you're a big person you might have to consider kneeling or maybe bow your head to get through. You certainly can't take a whole pile of your stuff with you, including your own self importance.
Gratitude eases the way... a lot,

silly is ok,

and spontaneous is good.

 my grandsons

All you have to do is be humble of heart

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and you get to stand on the other side, bright & free.

 There you'll find that Jesus is King

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..the King who was born in a stable one Christmas day, long, long ago.
Now, that, is precious and wonder-full, don't you think?!
Do pop in to Pom Pom's Ponderings on your way for some other thoughts on a childlike Christmas. It's a grand thing to consider...childlikeness.

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The Cutest Christmas Story Ever

Hello, you've come to just the right place for some pure childlike Christmas joy!

This little "The Christmas Story" vimeo was made by a group of sparkling individuals & families from St Paul's Church in Auckland. It has a wonderful kiwi flavour to it & is just the best tonic for jaded Christmas joy. Hope you love it as much as I do.

Do feel free to pop in to Pom Pom & have a visit with some others sharing thoughts on a childlike Christmas won't you.

Lovely to see you.

MUCH

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Healing Christmas by Vintage

I'm quite sure that, that doesn't make any sense at all, but have you noticed how many people seem to be flapping about, either stressed by the pressure and expectations of the season or glum & bogged down by lack of be-botheredness, as they can't seem to get past the commercial dullardry (mm I just made that up) that increasingly abounds. I am delighted to say, that since I am a non-perfectionist and a just have a fiddle around, sort of girl, that the vintage approach to Christmas spiriting has been most refreshing indeed, even healing. I've been doing just what I can, when I am able to, while pausing to consider the season we are in; the scents that bring me joy & mark the season so well. I found a little cluster of cookie cutters (darn, I've turned into an American..we actually call them biscuits here!) & amidst that little conflab I discovered the outline of a single wise man. He hasn't made any biscuits yet but he seems to be happy to just hang around for a bit in the mean time.

You'll notice our nativity has two babies..if you don't know why you'd best pop through here & read the story of The Two Babies. We also have a zebra (since Rob was born in Kenya & a Maori angel because she wanted a turn.

 My raspberries are so delicious I am eating them for breakfast every morning & leaving them in strategic places from time to time so they can be admired & sampled; others are making it in small pots to the freezer, safely tucked away for another time.

 I seem to be making an awful mess as I go & feel compelled to shuffle things around rather a lot.

 Since our David is coming home for Christmas & he is a violinist this lovely angelic musician seemed like the perfect decoration for here.

 I rather like this cotton seersucker gingham so I made a few hearts for this little tree.

 I wasn't sure that I would actually get around to making the fragrant fire starters that I had seen on Pinterest, but I think that they worked quite well.

 I used half an old egg carton, 3 small pinecones, star anise, a cinnamon stick or two, some previously dried bay twigs, natural twine & newspaper (well, obviously). I have since glued some star anise on the top. I bought the wax fire starters on special a while ago & thought the combination might work quite well together...no kerosene added!

 I have been taking careful note of the scents of our season & have found that there a lot of white fragrant flowers out just now, like this intoxicating chinese star jasmine. While many of you are anticipating snow & putting gardens to bed, I have to say, that I have had soooo much to do in the garden that I am not too disappointed that summer hasn't burst forth with any real fervency just yet. Everything seems to have gone mental & demands attention all at once. A lovely but unruly plot, much like it's owner, I'm quite sure.

 I looked up at the pots in my court yard yesterday & loved the dreamy feel of a summer meadow. If you've never bitten in to a green coriander seed do try one next time you see one..they are the most remarkable flavour burst that you have ever come across. Fun sprinkled (lightly) through a potato salad.

 I found myself some shears (as in for shearing sheep) last week for $3. They are brilliant for clipping topiary & at last I found a perfect use for the old hairdressing cape that has been waiting in the cupboard with great expectation. It has that shut up old caravan plastic aroma to it, so although Rob wouldn't complain at the roses around his neck the smell is a little musty for the delicate task of hair cutting.

 My lovely organics people at the Farmers' Market have planted 16 different kinds of courgettes. These are just the beginning.

 Wasn't this a great idea, immature figs on the counter at Madisons in Napier last week

 I have found the perfect possie to dry rose petals..in the sun in the back of my car..works brilliantly.

 When we stayed at Violet Annie's Cottage on Monday we popped up to the big house for a cuppa. Gaye was doing Christmas with all the panache that only she can bring to the task. Isn't this old, rescued wooden kindy train just a delight!

 I made a small vintagey arrangement on the back porch over the weekend. I bought the little play oven on Trade Me a little while ago. It's so cute!

 The wind got up a bit today & at one stage I looked down the street & saw a copper beech branch lying on the foot path just down the road. Oh, thought I, oh, I could use that & scarpered down to retrieve it. Who said I had to have a pine tree?

 The Graphics Fairy just posted this lovely picture today..she's so kind, freely giving away so many lovely images.

Well, my friends, so lovely to see you. I hope that you might find a little vintage Christmas healing yourself this week. Please do pop back on Wednesday as I will be posting the most precious Christmas story video you have ever seen. Produced by a group of families & individuals form St Paul's Church. You truly won't want to miss it. Even Rob has watched it 10 times already! See you on Wednesday. 

MUCH

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