I seem to be blogging about time yet again...

Sometimes for weeks, even months, it can feel like I'm treading water. Keeping afloat, furiously paddling underneath, but not really going anywhere - just dealing with the myriad of things that need to be done to keep a household of five running smoothly.

This week I finally feel Iike I have found the shore and can sit for a while. Time seems to have slowed down for now and creative things are happening again. I may finally get to take this etsy store off the backburner!

People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect... but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly... timey-wimey... stuff.

Sorry, that's a very geeky quote from Doctor Who that seemed appropriate here.

I have picked up the crochet hook again recently, to make water bottle carriers in preparation for Woodford, and to finish the ripple cushion I posted about earlier. Something about making these granny-inspired projects makes me feel like life is slower, simpler.

In other news, I sold my "Half a Wish" artwork in the exhibition! It's a lovely feeling, but also very surprising to me when people buy my work. Beginning to sell a bit of work this year has been a wonderful experience. It's not really about the money as much as the knowledge that the piece spoke to someone in a way that made them want to take it home and hang it on their wall.

Also, a very very belated thank you to the lovely friends who left comments on my post on Max's fears about sleeping alone. I wanted to reply to each comment, but with us going away it didn't happen and I'm sorry. There I go again, blaming it all on time! Anyway, there is nothing more reassuring or comforting than knowing that other mothers that I respect and admire also sometimes feel overwhelmed by this job. A huge hug to each of you. xxx

And finally, Hi Bev! Thank you for your lovely comments on the post below. I remember you from the Brisbane class several years ago, and I wanted to reply. My blogging has been a little erratic in the last couple of years, so it's nice to know that I still have some regular readers :)

There's always world enough and time.

Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler's Wife

If I made a wish on half a moon.....

Would I get half a wish?

(lyrics by Sally Dastey)

Half a Wish measures 25cm x 20cm, and was created from vintage maps, gocco prints, watercolour and thread. It's my entry in the Southern Downs Regional Artists Exhibition, opening in Stanthorpe this Saturday. It's my first time entering a show like this, and I nearly backed out at the last minute!

Finally getting back to doing some crochet... another ripple cushion, in lovely organic cotton yarn.

And, as promised, the second part of the quick and painless tour through our NZ holiday snaps. Two weeks in the South Island.

Picton across to Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers, West Coast

Queenstown, Doubtful Sound (oops, doubled up on one there!) and Dunedin. Our holiday also included a detour to Invercargill, when Nic broke his arm snowboarding in Queenstown.

Christchurch

happy

The Woodford program is up, and these guys will be playing. I've been falling in love with their music lately.

But what I'm really excited about is tickets for Pete and I to see Andrew Bird at the Sydney Opera House - my Christmas present from Pete. It's the day after we get home from a week's camping at Woodford, but we'll think about that a bit closer to the time :)

very happy.

Writing is easy.

You only need to stare at a piece of blank paper until your forehead bleeds - Douglas Adams.

Which is exactly what I have been doing the past week with this blog, except the blank paper is a computer screen and fortunately the bleeding forehead is metaphorical. I have started and deleted, started and deleted posts. If I wrote every day, I suppose I wouldn't feel the need for giant updates.

The reason for the long absence is that my family and I took off to New Zealand for almost a month in Sept/Oct. I had planned to blog a little about our trip, but I have returned to reality and straight back into the deep end it seems, so I'm going to keep it short and sweet.

North Island highlights:

Auckland

Northland/Bay of Plenty

Rotorua

Lake Taupo/Napier

Wellington

South Island up next :)

Easy does it...

I did some searching through my old blog posts this morning, looking for this one (scroll down to June 22, 2006). I needed to read it, and to read all the sweet and supportive comments that were made over 3 years ago.

Why? Max is now over 8, and for a while he slept well and was happily going off to bed on his own. His love of reading really helped - he would take a huge pile of books with him, and eventually fall asleep in the middle of them.

Things have not been so easy in recent months. Our little boy is now scared to be in his bedroom, even with the light on, and even though most nights one of us volunteer to be in there with him. As he goes to sleep, he hears noises, or gets strange feelings in his legs and arms. He desperately wants to and tries to go to sleep on his own, but ends up getting up with the excuse of needing a drink of water, or another book. After a half a dozen or so attempts, he is in tears and cuddles up with me in a lounge chair and falls asleep. Or Pete offers to lie down with him, until he is asleep. Without fail, every night by 1am he is in our bed.

Intellectually, I know that there are lots of reasons for his sleeping problems, going way back to an illness when he was very small.. and of course lots of guilty ways that we as parents are contributing to it. But emotionally we know that he is our son, who is smart, unique and sensitive, and while we can be here for him, we will.

Our society's expectation that children will sleep on their own in their own room is such an affluent, Western ideal. As adults we feel safe, secure and happy with another warm body to sleep next to, so why are we expecting our children to toughen up and be self-reliant?

The wrigging and kicking... that could be why ;). Anyway, this all reminded me of a beautiful poem by Bruce Dawe, which is not at all about sleep, but I'll share it anyway.

Easy Does It

- Bruce Dawe

I have to be careful with my boy
When he says tree it comes out hazy
very green and friendly and before I've got
the meaning straight he's up there laughing in it,
or working on the word for aeroplane
which is also a little above his head
so that he has to stand on tiptoe to touch it
-for him it does Immelmanns to order,
but when I try it becomes suddenly
only a model in a museum with props that slowly turn
when the button is pushed and a cutaway section
to show the engine in action…
I have to be careful with my boy,
that I don’t crumple his immediate-delivery-genuine-fold-up-and-extensible world
into correct English forever, petrify its wonder
with the stony gaze of grammar, or turn him into
a sort of Sunday visitor at the lakeside
who brings bags of specially-prepared bread-crusts to feed
to swans who arch their necks and hiss.

Poloroid photo made at http://www.rollip.com/start

finally got around to it

well, almost :)

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you might (just!) remember I posted about an etsy shop - oh, maybe 2 and a half years ago. Well, here you go. When I say I'm going to do something, I do it... eventually ;)

And just one project to share this time. Titled "Once", and created for Ngaire's top ten feature in Scrapbook Creations magazine.

Stamping, embossing, watercolours, acrylic paints, Gocco prints, ribbons and trims. The quote at the bottom is one of my favourite Zettiology stamps, and says:

Once, as a child, you heard enchanted beings whispering, tempting you away. Cautious, declining, you grew up regretting lost possibilities, unimagined lands. What would you give for a second chance to hear them whisper your name, to see their whimsical looks, and feel wonder in your soul again?

July

passed in a blur! Here are some photos of my work in the exhibition I mentioned in my last post- paper lanterns and stars, gocco/stitched collage works and some crochet ipod/phone pouches.

It has been a long time since I have identified my work as "art", having grown comfortable in crafting/designing fields, so it was great to step out of my comfort zone and have some lovely positive responses. Also very nice to have sold a number of pieces :)

These photos were taken after many of my favourite crochet pouches were already sold, so I'll have to make sure I get individual photos as I finish them from now on!

I would love to have something profound and interesting to say, but it's just not coming to me, and it's late - so pictures will have to do this time!