His Shoes

2013

Well, he is finally sound asleep after numerous nervous questions. His bag is packed, his shirt ironed (yes, it was a rare occasion for the iron to make an appearance in our house), his oversized shorts carefully tucked and sewn at the sides by his nanna so they wont fall down when he runs. And his shoes - his shoes sit shiny and new waiting by the front door waiting to be worn for the first time tomorrow.

I will shed my tears now beacause tomorrow I wont have time. Tomorrow, I will be busy packing lunches, tying shoes laces and lining up little ones for the obligatory first-day-of-school photos. We will drop him off with smiles and reassuring hugs as he begins his school adventure. I know he is ready for school and I am ready for him to go too so I am not sad about him going to school - just more sentimental when I think back on the last 5 years and all the time we have shared and how he has grown. Apart from a handful of odd days and of course kindergarten last year, I have been with him every day since he was born and of course every mother has their days but really he is pure joy. Recently, during the holidays, he randomly calls out to me and says, "Mamma, I love you". And I keep wondering how much longer I will hear these words before his vocabulary is filled with other words and phrases and teachers' and friends' names.

Having a baby, is like being given the best gif t ever. You take care of it and love it and keep it all to yourself until one day you have to share it with the rest of the world and let other people help to grow and shape it.

And so when I look at his shoes, I keep seeing how much he is growing and remembering how lucky we are to have spent those first years with him. As our life now is about to be bounded by set terms, early starts and school holidays for the next 14 or so years, I hope the journey for him is a brillant one.

2012

On the Desk

 

 

Another week is zipping by but I took a couple of snaps earlier in the week of what is on my desk right now. I did start the year with a tidy work space, but it didn't last long. I hope this is a sign that something new will be finished soon. Okay, heads down, back to work.

 

Prints in Situ

 

I have just been sorting some photos into folders when I came across this image that I intended to share last year. Often when I sell a print or piece of jewellery, I like to imagine where it is going and how it will be used or framed or worn. So it is especially lovely when someone takes the time to send me photos of them wearing the piece or how they have arranged their prints.
This image was sent to me last year from a lovely customer in Japan (who is actually an old friend of my husbands) He was decorating his apartment and chose these three prints from me which he framed himself. I love the simplicity of the photo just showing us a little of the curtain and his bicycle. All credit goes to him for the photography and is used here with his permission.

Holidays and New Year

 

Happy New Year! Holidays are always such a blurr once they are finished and it is hard to remember how two weeks were filled up so quickly. Apart from the usual Christmas and New Year festivities and gatherings, we spent most of our time at home together as a family which was nice for a change.
I had some time to finish some books I started last Christmas, watch a couple of DVDs (which had been ordered throughout the year but remained unopened) and generally spend some time lounging around which is usually unthought of.

There was of course lots of eating and indulgent breakfasts with my regular coffee sitting next to pieces of fruit cake, contreau laced apricot balls or chocolate croissants; sometimes it was all three! It is lucky that Christmas is only once a year! I also spent some time cleaning out the garage and going through boxes of things that havent been touched since me moved house in March last year. I decided that it was time to take out those old tea cups that belonged to my Grandmother and use them when I have a chance. Life is too short to keep things wrapped up in tissue paper. I also found my reproduction Clarice Cliff plate which I bought while on a tour in England. One of my New Years resolutions is to get these things out so I can look at them and also frame a bunch of prints that are hidden away. I have also been contemplating if the piece of Liberty fabric I bought almost four years ago, is the perfect piece of fabric to re-upholster an old chair that belonged to my great-Nanny. I have been thinking about whether I would prefer a more modern piece of fabric as I am sure this one will never match anything in this house but when I put it on the chair for the first time, I think it is a good match. Something else to put on the list of things to do this year!

The long sunny days have been great for evening swims, evening bike rides (or walks for me as the kids learn to ride their new bikes) and Summer foods with lots of yummy fruit and salads. I dont feel quite ready to tackle the new year yet but I know it is already whizzing past me and it is time to put my skates on. I have much to do in 2013 and i hope to share that with you here.....

Relax and Shop at Ethels'

 

Now we are a week into December, the words 'relax' and 'shop' are unlikely to be contained in the same sentence; but there is a place where I promise you can do just this. You might think I am talking about shopping online from the comfort of your lounge with i-pad perched on knee, but with cut off dates for shipping fast approaching and the worry of lost or slow pa
rcels, this could hardly be called 'relaxing'. I feel the silliness of the season already as my blood pressure rises in car parks as fast and as high as the parking fees as well! Gone without warning is the somewhat reasonable "three hours for $6" parking in some city carparks. I think I physically choked on the $15 I was charged for a couple of hours the other day.

 

But then there is "E" for Ethel. Tucked away under the vines in Melbourne Street, North Adelaide, it offers a little haven where you can sit with a cuppa and a bite to eat while you admire the many colourful creations that adorn the walls and thoughtful displays. You will probably only need to circle the block once to find a free 2 hour park and then once you turn the corner under the vines you will be met with a warm glow inviting you down to the entrance.

Once inside, the glow of the little lights around the shop, the friendly smile that greets you at the counter and the homely tables and chairs will make you feel relaxed and take you away from the noise and rush of the outside. It is filled with many sustainable and Australian products and many works from local Adelaide artists so you will not only find unique gifts but you can feel confident that you are supporting local small business too. I will leave you with a few more snaps I took the other week when I was doing a little relaxing and Christmas shopping myself. This was one of my
first adventures out with my new camera so the shots aren't perfect but will hopefully give you an idea of what you will find inside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Urban Cow Studio!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I popped into Urban Cow Studio last week and took a few snaps that i thought I would share with you here. It is full to the brim with so many colourful goodies and really is a place where there is something for everyone! I have seen a few posts on facebook recently encourging people to support local business this Christmas and buy handmade items. For those of you in Adelaide, it is nice to know that Urban Cow is not only full of handmade treasures but handmade treasures made by local Adelaide artists. The lovely people At Urban Cow have also kindly given a home to a few of my prints and handmade cards but I forgot to photograph those as there were so many distractions! So if you are Christmas shopping in the city, keep walking down the Mall towards Rundle St and pop around the corner to Frome St. Be sure to look up and down and all around in this space so you don't miss any of the delights!

Back!

Well, it's been a long break from the blog once again. Never intentional but perhaps a natural hibernation of sorts. I know this often happens for lots of bloggers; for others it often happens that they are busy doing so many new things they just can't fit it in anymore but for me, i really can't tell you where the time has gone or exactly what i have done with it.

I will start with the excuse that we went back to Japan for two weeks in Winter. I did gather a few snaps on my phone while we were away that I had intended to post here but it all seems distant now and a bit irrelevant. I have really just had little to say for a while and what i did feel like sharing seemed to fit comfortably into a one sentence, one poor photo post on my facebook page. Whole paragraphs felt impossible and the time to download a real photo from a real camera is just time I didn't want to spend in that way. Realising how difficult it is to maintain a blog makes me appreciate even more the wonderful blogs I follow who post almost daily and always with original images.

As I have probably reiterated many times in this space, I am not a photographer. Memories of university photography assignments still fill me with negative emotion and while I love looking at good photos, taking them is entirely another issue. But in the last week, I have acquired a new camera and I have had fun snapping away at anything and everything. Hence the photo of the Camper shoe party above. Sometimes it is good to force yourself to work with different tools to see things in new ways. Looking at all our shoes lined up by the front door (since we follow the Japanese tradition of wearing no shoes in the house) I got to thinking how you can probably learn a lot about someone just by looking at their shoes; how many, what kind, old or new, high or low, expensive or cheap? Wonder what my shoes say about me? It seems it might be a future theme for me to think about....