"Because it's a nice day," said Pooh.

I am rereading The Tao of Pooh at the moment. It is a great book (I think).  I particularly like this passage:

"Say, Pooh, why aren't you busy?" I said.
"Because it's a nice day," said Pooh.
"But you could be doing something Important," I said.
"I am," said Pooh.
"Oh? Doing what?"
"Listening,"he said.
"Listening to what?"
"To the birds. And that squirrel over there."
"What are they saying?" I asked.
"That it's a nice day," said Pooh.
"But you know that already," I said.
"Yes, but it's always good to hear that somebody else thinks so, too," he said.
 (from The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff.)

This picture which I saw here reminds me of a nice day.

I like this embroidery. I'd like to try something like that.

Saturday night songs

Here are a couple of  my favourite songs  from the Rage "Most Chosen" DVD.

I particularly like how the singer does the splits whilst playing the guitar.  That is very cool.

A Crazy Bus

Yarn Bombing

Are you an artist?

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up" - Pablo Picasso.

Gordon MacKenzie points out in his book Orbiting the Giant Hairball that if you ask a kindergarten class how many of them are artists, they'll all raise their hands. Ask the same question of 6th graders, and maybe one third will respond. Ask high school grads, and few will admit to it. What happens to us growing up? We begin to fear criticism, and tend to keep our creativity to ourselves. (from 1000 journals)

I love the 1000 journals project. What a great idea! I saw a documentary about it on TV ages ago and only just thought to look it up on the internet.  It gets me thinking of lots of ideas too! If you like projects there are some great sites full of ideas.  If I ever have the time to get bored I might do some of them but as it is there is not much spare time.  Oh well, one day......

Why is this stuck in the middle?

52 Projects
Learning to Love you More

Oh to be able to draw

If you haven't already, check out Gennie's Art Blog.  I love her arty style.

Thankyou life

Going down to the waterhole always makes me glad to be alive. It is such a peaceful and beautiful spot. It is so nice to slow down and have a day where nothing is planned. A day to listen to the babble of the river, the squawk of the black cockatoos and the distant hum of a tractor. With the winter sun warm on our heads, peaceful, unhurried, delicious.

Speaking of thanks I recently bought this book for the kids-  An Awesome Book of Thanks by Dallas Clayton.  It is a cool, colourful book with a great reminder to be thankful for everything.  A great attitude to have, one that leads to happiness, satisfaction and contentment. 

"Do you want to be really happy?  You can begin by being appreciative of who you are and what you've got.  Do you want to be really miserable? You can begin by being discontented."
 - (from The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff)

I am very grateful for a lot of things -  I love my family,  my friends,  my home, my garden, the river, the waterhole, the valley and the community in which i live.  I love the trees and birds and animals that surround me, the ocean, the beach, the bush.  I love the books I read, the music I hear,  the ideas I have and the inspiration I receive from the world and all its people.  Thankyou life!

Granny Squares for Granny and Sunny

Happy Birthday Granny (for yesterday)! Granny would have turned 96 (i think) yesterday. Without really realising it, I do have a lot in common with Granny! I wonder if without Granny's influence I would have still liked crochet so much??? It feels like something I have discovered on my own but really I have been surrounded by crochet and knitting my whole life. Every chair and bed in Granny's house had either a crochet rug or cushion (or both) on it! Sunny is sleeping right now under a blanket Granny made. Anyway I have recently started making granny squares to make into a bedspread for Sunny. A big project but there is no hurry! I really like choosing and playing around with the colours. I also find it relaxing to make a square at the end of the day and it is nice to see the pile of squares grow. I know I probably won't be so keen to sew them all together!

If you like crochet there are some great blogs here and here.

 

I just discovered this blog Eclectic Gipsyland.  It is full of beautiful handmade things, it is amazing what people can make!  It makes my granny squares look very simple and rustic!Oh well, that is what I am I guess!  

Little Wings

I am definitely going to make these for Sunny one day!

See the pattern here.  I first saw the pictures on Meet Me at Mikes.

Little Wing by Jimi Hendrix  - I love this song!

Well she's walking through the clouds
With a circus mind that's running round
Butterflies and zebras
And moonbeams and fairy tales
That's all she ever thinks about
Riding with the wind.

When I'm sad, she comes to me
With a thousand smiles, she gives to me free
It's alright she says it's alright
Take anything you want from me,
Anything.

Fly on little wing,
Yeah yeah, yeah, little wing

Kick a little stone

Kick a Little Stone

When you are walking by yourself
Here's something nice to do:
Kick a little stone and watch it
Hop ahead of you.
The little stone is round and white,
Its shadow round and blue.
Along the sidewalk over the cracks
The shadow bounces too.

by Dorothy Aldis

We went for a walk the other afternoon and Django was kicking a stone. He remembered this poem we like to read in a favourite children's poetry book of ours called  Here's a little poem .

Polly Dunbar is the illustrator and she has written other fantastic books too. I really love her illustrations,  I especially like Flyaway Katie.

One more fantastic story called Ideas Everywhere. Such a great book to read to kids at school (or at home) to help inspire story writing. 

She's like a rainbow

I finally finished Sunny's rainbow crochet dress. Yipee.

We have been loving this song lately!

More about trees

My mum emailed me this description of a tree....

"An old man, Wilf Drews (1909-2011)  died recently.  He  began a tree planting crusade around the collieries in the Hunter and in the 1950s he placed a plaque on a tree:

                        

 "A TREE.

Ye who would pass by and raise your hand against me harken ere you harm me. I am the heat of your hearth on cold winters nights, the friendly shade screening you from the summer sun and my fruits are refreshing draughts quenching your thirst as you journey on. I am the beam that holds your house, the board of your table, the bed on which you lie and the timber which builds your boat. I am the handle of your hoe, the door of your home, the wood of your cradle and the shell of your coffin. I am the bread of kindness and the flower of beauty. Ye who pass listen to my prayer,   HARM ME NOT I AM A TREE."

Wilf was a miner who left school at 14, after  45 years in the mines he became Australia's first colleriery gardener, an early conservationist and initiated a commemorative tree and plaque program for retiring employees....he sounds a very nice man....his obituary was in SMH 4/5/2011 page 20."

This is one of the amazing Root Bridges of Cherrapunji in north east India. It is made from the roots of the ficus elastica tree.   Trisso and I saw them on a nature show the other night. I wish I knew about them when I was in india - they look amazing.

This one is called the dancing tree.

A tunnel tree

What a cool bed!

This could go on for ever there are so many wonderful trees!

Last one, a knitted tree. That is a bit funny!

A BIG day at home with django

First we made pumpkin scones.

Then it was golf ball & marble painting.

Look at the concentration!

Then we made a box cubby house.

It was so beautiful out on the deck in the lovely autumn sun. 

Nature Anthem by Grandaddy

I saw this on rage on the weekend.  I think it is cute!  I like the lyrics!

            I wanna walk up the side of the mountain, 
           I wanna walk down the other side of the mountain, 
           I wanna swim in the river, lie in the sun, 
          I wanna try to be nice to everyone.

Alphabet biscuits

The boys made some alphabet biscuits. They are quite dry but they love them!

Ingredients

1 cup SR flour
1/2 tbspn corn flour
1/3 cup butter
1/4 cup castor sugar
1 beaten egg

1. Sift flours into bowl.
2. Rub in the butter (they love to do this!)
3. Crack egg into small bowl and beat with fork.
4. Add egg and sugar to mix.
5. Combine ingredients with hands.
6. Tip out onto floured bench and knead the dough.
7. Roll small bits into sausages and make into letters, numbers or shapes.

(Eating the uncooked mixture is very popular - it is hard to get any into the oven!)

8. Bake in a moderate oven (180) for about 15 - 20 mins.

Winter is coming

A beautiful autumn morning with a chill in the air.

The ugg boots are on and I've started knitting.

Even Sunny has some ugg boots.