The Trouble With Books..

is..
that there are just way too many of them to ever read in a single life time!!
 They are soooo easy to collect and accumulate these days.
I wonder how many books there are in the world right now?
It seems to me that there was once a time when books were a whole lot more precious & valued & well read. Chances were that you might have read the books you owned, over & over again & known all the stories ever so well & kept them for ever.
When our Anna was little she was so sweet...

and she LOVED books long before she could read.

Now days she can read at the speed of light & has surrounded herself wall to wall with more books.

We are so spoilt in our overfed & overstimulated comfortable culture..have you noticed how many truly beautiful books there are out there? And there are more & more published every day all around the world.
Have you ever imagined what your life would be like if you couldn't read!?
I think it would be as awful as not being able to see.
There is a man called Maruge that I want to tell you about very soon.
 He learnt to read when he was 84!

I wonder what your favourite book from childhood is?
When I was 7 I got chickenpox & my Aunty Margaret came & looked after me. During that week she read me Enid Blyton's The Magic Faraway Tree. These are the characters I remember.

open source wikipedia

No wonder I loved these stories...there was a Land of Enchantment, a Land of Tea parties & A Dame Slap that has a school for bad pixies & fairies!
Somehow or other I didn't manage to catch up with the Wind & the Willows as a child & although I am very familiar now with the delightful characters, I have never actually read the story through.
So yesterday I sat on the front step, in the sun & began a new Willows journey. So far, I am entirely delighted! I rather like Mole's notion of Spring without the cleaning.

If there was just one book that you could keep forever what would it be?

I read myself The Velveteen Rabbit for the very first time only a year or two ago..the nursery toys come to life much like the books

 in the extremely clever little vimeo below that I came across via Sophie at Her Library Adventures

Someone evidently ignored the above instructions in the early life of this particular book!

via pinterest

I have the most marvelous friend named Audrey. She is in her mid-eighties & lives across the road. I her see her each week when she comes over to buy fruit. As I carry things home for her, we have the most entertaining conversations. Audrey is highly knowledgable about almost everything. Her mind is sharp & her appetite for knowledge voracious. She is still studying & lives her life surrounded by books. Books have shaped her life in delightful ways. She has about as many books as this: 

via pinterest

although, hers are much tidier!

This sign just makes me smile & smile...& badly want to visit this shop.

via pinterest

If you've never read The Velveteen Rabbit you can read it here..it won't take very long.

"Weeks passed, and the little Rabbit grew very old and shabby, but the Boy loved him just as much. He loved him so hard that he loved all his whiskers off, and the pink lining to his ears turned grey, and his brown spots faded. He even began to lose his shape, and he scarcely looked like a rabbit any more, except to the Boy. To him he was always beautiful, and that was all that the little Rabbit cared about. He didn't mind how he looked to other people, because the nursery magic had made him Real, and when you are Real shabbiness doesn't matter."

courtesy Anchor Bay Entertainment

I hope you find the time to read this week...for the share joy & pleasure of it & because you can!

MUCH 

 ♥♥♥♥♥

A Year of Nourishing Traditions

I came across an expression a few months ago "Nourishing Traditions", I liked it so much I popped it in to my pocket & took it home with me. For me, this year is going to be all about nourishment, nurture & being free. Nourishment can take on many guises..gardening can be nourishing, if you are so inclined, it may well feed & uplift the soul.

 I don't recommend going without summer as we are, but have you ever noticed how much more vibrant the garden, the park, the land is after rain? It's as if everything comes alive..all the plants lift up their heads with dignity, vibrancy & purpose. We have had so much rain & so many, many cloudy days..it is most peculiar indeed. The summer things are still happening, the peaches are ripening, the cherries are yummy, the fuchsias are dancing on,

the hydrangeas happily taking their cue,

 but the sun is rarely seen, which is a very strange turn of events.
Although last Wednesday was a delightful exception...now, if you know me at all, you will know that this photo taken in the early morning by me, is quite remarkable indeed, ahem...not a morning person.

 Amazing the instant green produced by a downpour.

 Some people prefer to look at the moon..a little out of focus I know, a little like the astronomer..focussed on things way beyond here.

We have borrowed cats only these days, 3 just presently..Charlie, Maddy & Betty.

 Some are a little odder than others. Maddy has no idea whatsoever that cats don't like water, or that she should never cross the road on her own.

 She turned up at Margaret's (next door) just like this in the middle of the night, last week!

 Dull days & year endings have given me a little space to tidy my sewing room & have a go at crocheting a rag rug from an old sheet that was hanging around, waiting to be torn in to rags.

 I have had my eye out for some old playing cards to sew clusters of buttons on to but nothing had come my way, then I found this postcard in a draw, that was perfect for these pretty pink buttons, with Nina possibilities. I don't imagine that anyone will be too terribly sad that I used the postcard with Greetings from Sling! Thanks so much to Sophie at Fading Grace for the delightful idea.

Do you like my new op shop fairy dress? Still waiting for summer on this one.

 I found myself a cheap copy of "A Vintage Affair" on Trade Me the other day. I really enjoyed this book. The vintage clothes shop theme is a lovely vehicle to carry the rest of the story which is fascinating, unexpected & most thought provoking.

 Pondering nourishing traditions, I decided that a birthday bunting or two to herald the odd birthday week might be quite nice, only, my creative projects sometimes go a little awry. These particular pennants seemed too big for the space I had planned & the embroidery detail seemed to disappear when I hung them up so...

 I made them for the parlour instead

& they fit there just fine.

 Ah the mat...worked out quite well. Broke my lovely plump pink crotchet hook...plastic!
Used one & a half old sheets so only cost a couple of dollars & now I've finally, actually made myself a rag rug!
It looks quite good in the bathroom.

 I found this divine wee dress for Nina on Trade Me...no Aunty Catherine influences coming through I'm sure!

 I've been learning about & how to make cultured foods in the past few months. This lacto-ferment apple sauce is amazing. I have it with my breakfast every morning at the moment.

 Considering that so many of us suffer from imperfect digestion & that 80 percent of our immune system functions from the bowel it's not a bad idea to learn how to support & build bowel health for all the family. I have been experimenting with various fermented vegetables like sauerkraut. I am really enjoying the red cabbage & beetroot version most especially & the colour is amazing.

How perfect it was to receive this wonderful book as a gift from Nina's Mum & Dad...should keep me out of mischief for a night or two!

I plan on doing a lot more reading...that's a fabulous nourishing tradition, don't you think?

I'd love to hear about your nurturing plans or special things you like to do for yourself, so please do leave a note.

Thanks for visiting, my well nourished friends. 

Oops there's the rain again!

MUCH

 ♥♥♥♥♥

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!

via pinterest

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...

via pinterest

and what was the other thing?

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

MUCH

♥♥♥♥♥

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

 ♥♥♥♥♥